Coffeeshop Soundtrack
by xblessthefall
Summary: It was always assumed that if Kurt and Blaine were to split, Blaine would inevitably return to Dalton. No one expected Kurt to be the one to leave McKinley. Then again, no one expected Kurt to find an ally in Sebastian Smythe either. Kurtbastian.
1. Track One

Coffeeshop Soundtrack

**Chapter One**

"Kurt, I just-" Blaine hesitated, glancing down at his shoes and dragging a hand over his gelled-down hair. "You could be in _New York_ this time next year, and I'll just be starting my senior year. It isn't fair to either of us to expect-"

"I can't believe we're having this conversation," Kurt huffed, folding his arms defensively. "We talked about this before I even applied, Blaine! You were completely fine with all of this at the beginning of the year!"

Blaine's eyes narrowed at Kurt's raised tone. "Kurt, please. Just listen to me, alright? I'm not saying we should take a break indefinitely. Just- soon we're going to be _thousands_ of miles apart. You know that I'm right about-"

"Stop presuming that I automatically agree with you about things, Blaine Anderson." Kurt's voice was sharp in irritation. Why were they even having this conversation, again? "Why are we even talking about this right now? I don't leave for college for another six months!"

"I _know _that, but-"

"Wait." Kurt's voice chilled, eyes widening slightly in realization and jaw tightening. "We're… not talking hypothetical futures here, are we Blaine?"

His voice was careful, measured. Anything but panicked. Kurt was honestly proud he pulled it off- maybe he actually had a shot at NYADA with acting skills like this.

Blaine glanced at Kurt through the fringe of his curls, expression twisted with guilt.

"Kurt," He beseeched, voice lowering to barely above a whisper. "Be honest for a second."

Kurt's eyes narrowed but he waited for Blaine to continue, his jaw still tight.

"We haven't been _us_ in a long time, have we?"

The question was like a punch to Kurt's gut. It _hurt_. It hurt that Blaine would even think to ask such a thing, that he would _have_ to ask at all. It hurt because it was the truth.

It took him a moment to find his voice. "No," he finally agreed softly, "we haven't."

Blaine's smile was heartbreaking as he dropped his gaze again, taking one of Kurt's hands between both of his own. He lifted damp eyes to meet Kurt's once again. "You are an _amazing_ man, Kurt Hummel." He brought Kurt's hand up to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss against Kurt's knuckles. "New York isn't going to know what hit them."

Kurt's responding laugh was weak, forced.

"Well, _that_ we can still agree on."

xxx

One of the most annoying things about high school is the ability for a rumor to pass around the student body like wildfire.

Kurt hadn't even made it out of the parking lot before the sympathy sessions began in full swing.

He had just locked his car up and turned to head for the school when Rachel fell into step beside him, sliding her arm through his and tilting her head against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry about what happened with you and Blaine," she wasted no time in consoling, glancing up at him as they walked.

Kurt fought a longsuffering sigh, simply shoving his hands deeper into his coat pockets and steering Rachel over towards the sidewalk and out of the middle of the parking lot. "I really need to stop telling Finn anything," he remarked flatly.

Rachel frowned at this. "Don't get mad at Finn. He's only worried about you, Kurt." She tugged on his arm lightly to get his attention. "And he has a right to be. How are you handling… things?"

"You mean "how am I handling being dumped?"" Kurt clarified tonelessly. At Rachel's flinch he decided to take pity on his friend. After all, she did _mean_ well. She was just Rachel Berry- meddling was practically encoded in her DNA. "I'm fine, Rachel. Really. It's high school- this sort of thing happens."

He shrugged noncommittally, hoping that his response didn't sound _too_ practiced. Even if it was.

Rachel suddenly perked up. "You're right, Kurt! This is high school. Finn and I have rough patches all of the time, but we always end up together in the end." She smiled up at him earnestly. "This is just yours and Blaine's first trial to get through. You two are too crazy about each other to not make it past this."

Kurt fought another sigh. If there was one thing worse than an empathetic Rachel, it was an optimistic Rachel. "Maybe," he allowed half-heartedly.

If only things were ever that simple.

xxx

Another thing that sucked about high school? Once you broke up with someone, you noticed them _everywhere_. In the halls, in the lunch room, in classes, in the _bathroom_ for chrissake. It seemed that the instant you hoped to actively avoid someone, you were doomed to see them around every corner.

Still, Kurt had somehow managed to survive the day without any serious encounters with Blaine- until glee club, of course.

He had hardly walked through the choir room door before Kurt was ambushed. Brittany and Santana flanked either of his sides, wrapping their arms around his shoulders and middle as they walked with him towards the risers. Quinn and Tina had clearly saved the trio seats with them, and for once Tina wasn't sitting with Mike.

In fact, the risers seemed to have been divided by gender today. Several of the guys were sitting slumped around Blaine, talking quietly amongst themselves. Kurt was abruptly reminded that his _ex_-boyfriend had somehow accomplished the one thing that Kurt never could- he had become "one of the guys."

Kurt swallowed back the bitter taste that came with that revelation as he took his seat between Brittany and Santana. When Quinn and Tina twisted in their seats to offer him sympathetic smiles he did his best to return the favor in kind.

Honestly, Kurt's friends were being far more dramatic about the entire breakup than _he_ was.

Mercedes and Sam arrived together then, and Kurt was sure his surprise showed when the pair- as in, _both of them_- didn't hesitate to come and claim the seats behind Kurt. He actually jumped a bit when he felt Sam clap a hand on his shoulder.

"You okay, dude?" was all Sam asked, leaning forward to actually get a look at Kurt's face.

Kurt nodded a bit numbly. "I'm fine, guys."

"Good. But if you change your mind, I can totally kick the Hobbit's ass."

Quinn and Tina exchanged a glance, their mouths falling open in shock even as they clearly did their best not to laugh. Kurt's expression undoubtedly mirrored their own.

"Uhm," he stammered, eyes widened a bit in surprise, "Thanks, Sam. I don't really think that's necessary, though."

Sam shrugged and sat back. "The offer still stands."

Mercedes was grinning when she caught Kurt's eye.

Rachel and Finn finally filtered into the classroom, taking seats their usual seats in front of Tina and Quinn without missing a beat.

At that point Mr. Schuester made his way into the classroom, drawing everyone's attention from their respective conversations as he made his way to the center of the room.

Kurt felt Brittany curl closer against his side and rest her cheek against his shoulder as they listened to the glee teacher explain their week's assignment. Santana's arm was stretched behind the back of Kurt's chair, fingers idly toying with Brittany's ponytail as she watched Schuester boredly. Her other arm was still hooked with Kurt's own.

Kurt tipped his head against Brittany's and watched Schuester scribble their lesson plan out on the white board, his lips tilting into a reluctant smile.

Maybe Blaine had become "one of the guys" somewhere along the way, but Kurt wouldn't trade Sam, Finn, and the girls for anything.

xxx

It took about a half-hour of arguing with himself before Kurt finally decided to go to the Lima Bean to do his homework. After all, it wasn't like he had any reason to avoid Blaine- neither of them had technically done anything wrong. All things considered, their breakup was quite amicable.

It didn't mean that it didn't _suck_.

Still, Kurt had homework that needed to be done, and Finn and Sam were camped out on the living room couch and playing Call of Duty. The only thing that drowned out the blaring game was the pair's yelling. If Kurt had any hope of getting started on his French paper he would have to find some place much quieter to work.

He sat in his car for fifteen minutes before he finally got up the nerve to make his way inside of the coffee shop.

Kurt had barely stepped through the door before he noticed Blaine sitting at a window table with Sebastian. His jaw set and he quickly looked away, simply walking over to the counter to place his orders without a backwards glance.

He forced himself to exhale a careful breath, composing himself while he had the chance and forcing his stance to relax once more. By the time his macchiato was in hand and Kurt was turning to find a corner table to claim, he had even managed a distracted half-smile that he hoped made him appear to be lost in distant_, happy_ thoughts.

He pretended not to notice Blaine and Sebastian as he passed by their table, going so far as to hum the song they were working on for regionals beneath his breath.

In true Smythe tradition, Sebastian wasn't about to let Kurt get away so easily.

"Well speak of the devil- there you are, Gayface. I was beginning to worry that Blaine had somehow slipped his bedazzled collar and made a run for it." Sebastian smirked, glancing between Kurt and Blaine mischievously.

Kurt's tight-lipped smile _nearly_ slipped. "Didn't he tell you already, Sebastian? Blaine's a free man now," he kept his voice light, flippant- and maybe just a little scathing. "By all means, have at him."

Blaine blinked, frowning incredulously. "Kurt," his tone was as disapproving as his expression. Blaine moved to stand then, and Kurt was quick to make his retreat before he had the chance.

"Sorry boys, I'm actually here on business. Another time."

He pretended not to notice Sebastian's gob smacked expression as Kurt took a sip of his coffee and continued past them to claim a table.

He claimed the table in the back corner, pulling his laptop from his messenger bag and setting up his books and papers. After a few moments of situating Kurt finally sat back and pulled up his laptop. He determinedly resisted the urge to peak at Blaine and Sebastian's table over the top of his computer.

He needn't have bothered, though, because before he could even pull up a Word document to begin work on his paper, someone dropped into the seat across from him.

"Blaine, I'm serious. I need to-"

"What happened with you and Anderson?"

Kurt's eyes snapped up at that, gaze narrowing at the person across from him. He quickly slipped his carefully crafted mask back into place. "What do you want, Smythe?"

Sebastian raised his eyebrows expectantly. "An answer would be nice."

"Civility is a stretch for us, meerkat. Let's not test our boundaries just yet."

"You _are_ in quite the mood," Sebastian appraised, the amusement apparent in his voice only serving to irk Kurt even further. "This must have been some break-up."

"Actually, it was pretty uneventful." Kurt offered dismissively. He returned his attention to his computer screen and opened the Word program he had been searching for when the other teen had elected to join him. He distracted himself by flipping through old documents saved on the program until he found the file that he needed.

After several moments of silence passed he finally glanced up at Sebastian, surprised to find that the other boy was simply watching him, expression uncharacteristically schooled.

"… What?"

"Honestly? I'm at a loss for words." Sebastian shrugged and took a sip of his own coffee.

"I'll bet you'd find them if you were sitting elsewhere," Kurt suggested tonelessly. When his snark failed to earn the anticipated response from the other teen, Kurt finally shifted his attention to Sebastian fully.

"…What do you think you're doing?"

Sebastian glanced up from his book. "I'm knitting a sweater, Hummel."

Kurt's eyes widened and he very nearly choked on the sip of coffee he had just taken. He covered his sputtering with an inelegant cough against the cuff of his sleeve and pointedly ignored the raised eyebrow his actions earned from the brunette across from him.

It took clearing his throat lightly before Kurt felt that he could trust his voice again.

"You just called me Hummel."

"Well that is your name, isn't it?" Sebastian drawled disinterestedly, allowing his attention to shift back to the book propped between the edge of the table and his knees.

Kurt wasn't deterred. "Is this you trying to be nice or something? Because honestly- it's more creepy than flattering."

Green eyes rose to meet Kurt's, crinkling in amusement.

"I don't think I've ever seen you out of your element before," Sebastian remarked with a lazy grin.

At this Kurt simply scowled and pointedly turned his attention back to his computer. He once again distracted himself, beginning to read over the document he had previously pulled up. He quickly became absorbed with proofing the partial essay as he reread it.

Half an hour later, Kurt startled when Sebastian suddenly stood.

"Do you want a fresh coffee?" Sebastian inquired, grimacing as he eyed his own cup in distaste. Kurt recognized the expression immediately- it was the look of disgust that followed taking an absentminded drink of cold coffee. He was intimately familiar with the dilemma.

It took a moment for Sebastian's offer to sink in.

"Oh," Kurt stammered, once again taken off-guard by the brunette's words, "Uhm-"

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "What are you drinking, Hummel?" It was hardly a question.

"Caramel Macchiato," he admitted warily. Kurt continued to scrutinize Sebastian in search of a second or third head; clearly, something was seriously wrong with the other boy. He briefly considered whether Finn's body-snatcher theory could hold any merit. Before he could come to any definite conclusion, though, Sebastian had already turned and made his way to the barista counter and was placing their coffee order.

Kurt caught himself staring at the Warbler and sharply turned his attention back to his essay, features twisting into a stubborn scowl. He pulled his French book towards him a little more vindictively than was necessary as he began to check over his conjugations.

This week was turning out _nothing_ like Kurt had intended.

xxx


	2. Track Two

****Author's Note: Wow. I cannot believe the response this story has gotten! You guys are so amazing! Thank you for all of the lovely reviews, and of course for all of the alerts and favorites this story has received. Seriously, my mind is blown. I'm going to stop babbling and post this new chapter now, okay?

**Chapter Two**

After half an hour of the pair studying in silence, Kurt abruptly snapped his laptop shut. The sudden sound startled Sebastian from where he was once again absorbed in whatever book he had brought with him and the brunette looked up sharply, lips tilting into an amused smirk as he took in Kurt's own expression.

"Alright, meerkat. What is this exactly?" Kurt snapped. He sat back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest and eyed Sebastian dubiously.

Sebastian's smirk simply grew. "Are we talking about your outrageous hair, or…?"

Kurt's eyes narrowed at the barb. "Don't even get me started on hair, Smythe. You look like you're trying to sneak on the set of Gossip Girl." Kurt's own lips were tilted in a sneer now, but he didn't allow the other boy time to return his snark in kind. "What do you want? Why are you sitting here? And why on _earth _are you being…" _Nice_.

Kurt couldn't bring himself to say the word and Smythe in the same tangent.

"I need more community service hours for college applications," Sebastian drawled, leaned back in his own chair. "I thought I'd start by hanging around you for a bit."

Kurt arched an eyebrow. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but sitting around in a café and sipping on a latte isn't helping you work off that Indecent Exposure charge."

His jaw actually dropped when Sebastian tipped his head back and honesttogod _laughed_ then. The sound wasn't forced or even mocking- and it completely transformed the other boy's features. Kurt could only gawk.

He was aware that some of the other patrons had turned to look at them, but Kurt couldn't tear his eyes away from the boy sitting across from him if he tried. He was as equally horrified by Sebastian's sudden transformation as he was intrigued. Sebastian, for his part, seemed oblivious to the stares that he had drawn from his sudden burst of laughter, as short lived as it was.

Sebastian shook his head and, still grinning, reached for his coffee cup as he straightened in his chair. "That was- kudos, Hummel," he admitted, and Kurt noticed that the Warbler's voice was hardly as begrudging as the occasion called for.

Kurt cleared his throat, hoping that the action oriented his voice as much as his head. "You still haven't-" he paused, pursing his lips, "Answer the damn question, Smythe."

Sebastian quirked a brow, grin never faltering as he sat his cup back on the table. "My apologies," his voice was anything but apologetic. If anything, he was once again amused at Kurt's expense. "What was the question, again?"

Kurt's eyes narrowed in an open glare. "What do you _want_?"

"Why'd you and Blaine break up?" Sebastian, in true form, simply responds to Kurt's question with one of his own.

Kurt blanched. "That's none of your business. So if that's all-"

Sebastian clearly wasn't finished. "Give me an answer and I'll consider leaving you alone."

"You'll _consider_? You're _insufferable_, Smythe."

Sebastian suddenly straightened and shifted forward in his chair, bracing his arms against the table in front of him and peering at Kurt. Kurt automatically sat back in his own chair in an effort to restore some semblance of distance between them.

"Did you sleep with him?"

Anything Kurt was about to snipe was abruptly forgotten. The color that had drained from his face only moments ago suddenly returned with a vengeance, leaving his cheeks flushed. He curled his fists in his lap.

"Jesus Christ, Hummel. I thought you were smarter than that," the Warbler hissed, cutting his gaze out the window as if Kurt's lack of response (which is likely response enough) has actually somehow caused Sebastian pain.

When Kurt finally relocated his voice, he's instantly ashamed at how shaky it has become. "My sex life is _none_ of your business, Sebastian Smythe," he seethed, fists tightening as they curled around the fabric of his pants.

Abruptly, Sebastian shifted in his chair to slouch against the back of his seat, regarding Kurt with cool disinterest. His expression completely contradicted the way his eyes had suddenly darkened to an angry, emerald green.

"I've known Blaine since I was six." His voice came out flat, bored. "Our parents run in the same circle-old money, or whatever. It only followed that they thought shoving us together would make us magically become best friends." Sebastian's lips quirked at this, appearing almost proud of himself for his next words, "It never worked."

Kurt was mentally floundering, struggling to categorize the last half-hour in his mind and trying to decipher _some_ semblance of sense from it all. Story Time with Sebastian certainly wasn't aiding his efforts any; there was _no_ way that Sebastian and Blaine had somehow known each other before they met at Dalton less than a month ago.

Blaine had told him as much.

Kurt became aware of the way that Sebastian was watching him intently, as if somehow aware of Kurt's musings. It was either that or the Warbler was gauging the reaction his words were having on Kurt- and with Sebastian Smythe? Either scenario wasn't that far fetched.

Sebastian finally just continued with his story, still watching Kurt far too intently for Kurt's questionable sanity. "We've never gotten along- but we still get roped into the same social shit with our families, so we're more or less stuck with each other. We kind of… treat everything like a game."

Kurt's attention narrowed as he noticed that Sebastian had began to choose his words carefully.

"It's all a competition, really. Or at least we act like it is," Sebastian shrugged, seeming to consider the truth behind the claim, "If we're going to get roped into pretending to like each other and stuck at some stuffy party we mine as well get laid, right?"

Kurt's horror at that statement must have been painted across his face. What's worse, Sebastian couldn't seem to find it in himself to look the least bit apologetic for the admission.

"Usually we just pick out a couple of guys and make bets as to whether or not we can have them on their knees by the end of the party." Sebastian's voice is as unapologetic as his honesty. "It keeps things interesting."

"_Interesting_?" Kurt seethed, sitting forward in his seat to scowl at Sebastian from up close. "You-you're both-" but Kurt can't find the words that he's looking for, because he's still trying to wrap his head around this new side of Blaine.

Then everything clicked into place and Kurt felt his shoulders relaxing. He allowed the tiniest of belittling smiles to twist his lips as he shook his head once. "You're full of shit," he stated simply, not missing the way Sebastian's brows rose at the swear.

Sebastian huffed out a laugh. Kurt was mildly horrified to realize that it didn't sound the least bit defeated. In fact, the Warbler sounded almost irritated.

So much for his theory.

"Christ, here," Sebastian groused as he shifted in his seat once again. He pulled out his phone and flicked a thumb over the screen to wake the device.

It was Kurt's turn to laugh derisively. "Are you actually going to try and call Blaine to get him to back you up on this?" He did nothing to hide his sneer as he took a sip of his coffee. "Great plan, Smythe."

"Shut the fuck up, Gayface. Your voice is giving me a headache." Sebastian turned his phone towards Kurt then and set it on the table- or tossed it across the table, if Kurt were to be honest.

Despite himself, Kurt let his gaze drop to the phone as curiosity got the best of him. His breath caught when he spotted the picture of Sebastian, Blaine, and a few other boys that Kurt didn't know that seemed to be taken at some sort of party. The five teens were all dressed in what appeared to be expensive tuxes and grinning drunkenly, holding champagne glasses loosely in their hands as they were obviously shoved together so the picture could be taken.

Kurt felt his stomach tighten as he noticed the way that Blaine was draped over one of the boys, his arm curled around the blonde's middle as Blaine turned into the teen's side, their bodies pressed far too close to simply be friends.

And there was absolutely no missing the way that the blonde was looking at Blaine as if he wanted to start tearing the raven's clothes off where they stood.

Kurt pushed the phone away, turning his gaze sharply towards the window beside him as he pretended to watch the pedestrians passing by the café. He felt his eyes beginning to sting and blinked away the building tears harshly.

He wasn't about to let Sebastian Smythe see him cry.

Sebastian, for his part, simply watched Kurt in silence for several moments before he finally spoke again. "That was taken a couple of weeks ago, in case you were curious. The Andersons had a dinner party." Surprisingly, his voice was lacking any of the bite it usually held. He almost sounded sympathetic. "I think Anderson said he told you-"

"-he was having dinner with his grandmother." Kurt supplied quietly.

The Warbler only nodded, chewing on his lip in thought for a moment. "Anderson's more about the chase, Hummel. He told me that night at Scandals that he was close to sealing the deal with you. I called bullshit, and…"

_And he tried to jump me in my car._ Kurt supplied mentally. He simply shook his head. He couldn't think of a thing say to anything Sebastian was telling him. Hell, Kurt still couldn't figure out _why_ Sebastian was telling him any of this.

He said as much.

"Because I don't actually get off fucking with people, Hummel," Sebastian replied with a frown of his own. "That's Anderson's game. In case you haven't noticed, I'm pretty upfront with my intentions from the start."

"Except when you're playing Blaine's wingman?" Kurt shot back.

Sebastian scowled. "I didn't _know_ you, Hummel. I didn't owe you shit when we met. Hell, I _still_ don't."

"Well then why are you telling me all of this?" Kurt demanded, sitting straighter and holding his hands out at his side beseechingly. If his voice came across as desperate, Sebastian didn't call him on it.

It took a moment for Sebastian to respond to that one. He eyed Kurt assessingly, apparently weighing his words or his options. Finally, he responded with cocky bravado that was just _so Sebastian_, "Because I like you."

Thankfully, Kurt hadn't taken a drink of his coffee just yet, because he would have surely spit the drink right back out at the Warbler's declaration. It was almost hilarious how it was so obvious the moment that Sebastian realized what he had said, because the Warbler's face looked as frantically incredulous as Kurt felt.

"I didn't- not _like that_, you fucking idiot!" Sebastian sputtered, a flush spreading over high cheekbones. "I assure you, I don't like my men pasty white and reeking of baby powder, Hummel. Jesus _Christ_."

And just like that, Kurt began laughing- and couldn't stop.

At first Sebastian regarded Kurt as if he'd grown a second head. Then, slowly, his lips began to tilt into a grin. When Kurt's continued laughter only drew the attention of the patrons nearest them Sebastian began to chuckle despite himself- likely because of the lovely shade of red Kurt's face was turning.

And then Kurt tried to take a breath because he was laughing _too hard_ and he _couldn't breathe_, but all he managed was a strangled, hiccupping gasp.

And that was when Sebastian lost it.

They were drawing stares and glares by the handful, but Kurt couldn't bring himself to care. His stomach was hurting from his laughter to the point that he wrapped an arm around his middle and bent over the table slightly, offering Sebastian a beseeching look- as if the brunette could somehow make him stop laughing before Kurt's stomach decided to split open or he passed out from asphyxiation.

Not that Sebastian was going to be any help since the Warbler had his elbows braced against the table top with his hands covering his face, shoulders shaking with his own laughter.

And that only made Kurt laugh harder.

It was definitely one of those moments when Kurt wasn't even sure _why_ he was still laughing, but simply because _Sebastian_ was still laughing, any time that Kurt _almost _managed to stop, he'd take one look at Sebastian and be gone again.

Thankfully the moment, despite feeling like it lasted for hours, only lasted maybe a minute. Kurt was finally able to take a full breath- and held it until he was certain he wouldn't just laugh the air right back out of his lungs. Sebastian mercifully seemed to pull himself together at the same time.

"I'm pretty sure I should be offended at your desperate backpedaling there, meerkat, but I just don't think I have it in me right now." Kurt drawled.

Sebastian shook his head, sitting up and reaching out to reclaim his coffee. "What I _meant_," he began, clearly trying to keep his lips from tilting into another grin, "is that- unlike most of Anderson's conquests- I actually like you. You're not just some moron Blaine left swooning in his wake."

"That's apparently up for debate," Kurt mumbled, suddenly finding the barista's writing on his cup incredibly interesting.

"Hey." Kurt's gaze snapped up at the severity of the other boy's tone. He blinked owlishly at the no-nonsense look Sebastian was sending his way. "You're not, alright?"

Sebastian looked as uncomfortable with the admission as Kurt felt uncertain of it, and maybe that was why Kurt believed him.

He managed a nod.

Kurt eyed the other boy as Sebastian took his nod as a queue to throw back the remainder of his latte in a single pull.

"You do remember there's not _actually_ Courvoisier in there, right?"

Sebastian set the now-empty cup on the table with triumphant finality. He raised an eyebrow at Kurt's words and his lips tilted into a familiar smirk. "Who says I didn't bring my own, Hummel?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and shook his head, taking pointed sip of his own drink.

Looking back, for one reason or another, that was the moment when a camaraderie of sorts began to form between Kurt Hummel and Sebastian Smythe.

xxx

Kurt spent the next morning doing his best to avoid- well, everyone. He didn't feel up to dealing with his meddlesome, albeit well-intentioned friends, and he certainly couldn't handle a run-in with Blaine Anderson just yet.

If Kurt were to see Blaine in his present state of mind he would undoubtedly spend the night- and probably the next twenty years to life- in prison.

Much to his surprise, the universe for once appeared to be on his side. Rachel and Finn were both out with strep throat, and Blaine seemed to be making himself scarce during passing periods for once. Tina wasn't the type to hover, Mercedes and Kurt didn't actually have any classes together this year, and Santana and Brittany's world seemed to have once again narrowed down to each other. Quinn and Sam were the only two that stuck to Kurt, and he couldn't bring himself to mind.

Sam was taking his queue from Kurt and seemed to be ignoring the breakup drama altogether- save for eying Blaine in the hallway on the rare occasion the trio actually _did_ come across him. Quinn simply kept her arm hooked with Kurt's and pretended not to notice Blaine at all.

If there was one thing that Quinn and Sam were good at, it was not asking questions. Neither seemed to care to know every little detail surrounding the Epic Klaine Split- and that suited Kurt perfectly.

Still, he elected to skip out on glee club that day. Even if Blaine were to miss rehearsal, Kurt still didn't feel up to dealing with the drama that accompanied even the most uneventful of glee practices. He certainly didn't want to deal with the veiled comments and side-glances that would undoubtedly be cast his way throughout rehearsal.

And furthermore, Mr. Schuester would probably change the week's assignment to covering breakup ballads in a misguided attempt to help Kurt deal with his apparent heartbreak.

The man meant well- he did. He just often missed the mark by several hundred miles.

As it were, Kurt once again found himself at the Lima Bean, nursing a cooling Macchiato and scowling at his French essay. He had reclaimed his corner table from the day before and was sitting with his back to the wall so he could keep an eye out for unwanted visitors. However, he quickly became so absorbed in his essay that Kurt forgot he was supposed to be keeping on the lookout at all.

The nearby scrape of chairs caught Kurt's attention and he lifted his head just in time to see Sebastian, Nick, and Jeff all sink into seats at Kurt's (now quite crowded) table.

Kurt blinked.

"Hey there, Gayface." Sebastian greeted jovially, his trademark smirk firmly in place as he set his schoolbag down beside his seat.

"Hey Kurt," Nick and Jeff greeted in unison, sharing a wry glance as a result of Sebastian's greeting.

Kurt blinked again.

Sebastian's lips tilted into something closer to a grin. "Jeff and Nick decided to tag along when I mentioned where I was heading," he explained lightly, though his eyes were on a blonde boy that had risen from a nearby table. Kurt almost blushed at the blatant leer Sebastian was giving the unsuspecting teen.

"And _why_ were you heading here, exactly?" Kurt inquired flatly, even as he waited for Sebastian's attention to return from the blonde that had _clearly_ caught his eye.

Sebastian finally glanced at Kurt and blinked a bit owlishly at the look Kurt was undoubtedly giving him. "I wanted coffee, of course," he answered a bit incredulously, sitting back in his seat and tilting his head to observe Kurt much more intently than the other boy was comfortable with.

"Last I checked, there were actually coffee shops in Westerville. I actually have this on good authority- seeing as I went to school there for a semester." Kurt widened his eyes dramatically, doing his best to lace each word with equal amounts of sarcasm.

"Yes," Sebastian agreed without missing a beat, his tone still light and bored, "but the company isn't nearly as entertaining."

Now Kurt's eyes were widened for an entirely different reason. He glanced between Jeff and Nick to see if the three Warblers were perhaps referring to some sort of inside joke that Kurt was unaware of, but the other two boys were both looking at Sebastian in surprised amusement.

Vaguely, Kurt wondered if the barista had slipped something in his coffee. Surely he hadn't just heard Sebastian Smythe admit to driving two hours in hopes of running into Kurt at the Lima Bean.

Nope, that definitely wasn't what just happened.

Nick and Jeff took Kurt's stunned silence as their queue to take over the conversation.

"Did you know there's an Open Mic Night here Friday?" Jeff inquired cheerfully, spinning his near-empty coffee cup between his hands on the table.

This effectively distracted Kurt (for the moment) from his scrutiny of Sebastian, much to Sebastian's apparent amusement. "I actually didn't," he admitted, casting a glance around the café until he spotted a nearby flyer advertising the Open Mic Night.

"We should come and check it out," Nick shrugged as he sat back in his own chair. His drink remained hardly touched in front of him. "Sebastian'll probably have another coffee craving by then anyways."

Kurt wasn't sure he imagined the smirk Nick shot Sebastian as he made that last comment.

Jeff grinned eagerly. "I'm game."

Sebastian glanced between the other two Warblers consideringly.

Jeff and Nick shot Sebastian identical flat stares, causing Kurt to grin reluctantly. He'd forgotten how much he genuinely liked the other two Warblers.

Sebastian huffed out a laugh at the looks he received from his companions. "Alright, fine. We can waste our Friday by coming to check out what meager talent Lima has to offer." He smirked at Kurt. "Will you be performing, Hummel?"

Oddly, it was the return of the other teen's snark that finally set Kurt at east.

"I wasn't planning on it, Smythe. Though now I almost feel like I should if only to defend Lima's honor." Kurt quipped, sniffing indignantly and shifting in his chair to cross his legs again as he leaned forward to snag his coffee.

Sebastian didn't miss a beat, lazy smirk firmly in place. "Wouldn't that have the opposite effect…?"

"I hope you choke on your teeth." Kurt retorted.

Nick and Jeff were grinning again, which might have been disconcerting if the pair wasn't _always_ grinning around each other.

After that the four teens fell into easy conversation- or bickering, in Sebastian and Kurt's case- as Jeff and Nick filled Kurt in on everything he had missed since transferring away from Dalton. For the most part, Sebastian sat back and allowed the other two Warblers to lead the conversation, apparently content to nurse his latte and keep an eye on the café's other customers.

And if Sebastian spent as much time watching Kurt as he did checking out the other patrons, then Kurt pretended not to notice.


	3. Track Three

Author's Note: Hey guys! A couple of quick notes.

First off, I realized that I never specified exactly _where_ this story goes AU from. The answer is a little complicated, but I've narrowed it down to branching off after the "Yes/No" episode. As such, the slushie incident _never_ happened. There was no epic Michael Jackson showdown, and Regionals hasn't occurred yet. However, Burt _did_ when his election and Kurt _has_ received his NYADA finalist letter. Sam is back at McKinley and living with the Hudson-Hummel household since his family still lives in Kentucky.

I hope that cleared up any confusion!

Now onto an announcement. I've recently started up a livejournal account! I'm intending to cross-post fics there eventually, but the site is primarily going to be used to post extras and previews connected to this story as well as _Somewhere Only We Know. _For instance, I'm planning on having a preview of the Smythe family posted sometime during this week, and maybe even a glimpse at one of the songs that will be performed at the Open Mic Night that should be occurring in the next chapter.

So if any of that strikes your fancy, feel free to check me out on livejournal! You can find the link to my journal through my profile page.

On a final note, I want to address something really fast. There will _not_ be pointless Blaine-bashing in this fic. Now, you might not particularly like him or his behavior at times, but that behavior will be justified within the storyline. I know there are many fics out there that completely change Blaine's characterization to turn him into the ultimate, sleaze-ball villain- I would like to assure you that this is _**not**_ one of those stories.

Anyways, you're all amazing, and this author's note is ungodly long. Oh gosh. On with the story!

**Track Three**

Kurt didn't make it home until nearly nine that night.

He had been surprised when he had finally noticed the time, so much so that his expression had earned a laugh from the three Warblers he was sitting with. But honestly, how was Kurt supposed to handle the realization that he had somehow wasted six hours at the Lima Bean with the others?

And Kurt only called the hours wasted because he'd managed _maybe _a sentence on his essay that he had intended to spend the time working on. In all actuality, he couldn't really count the time as lost- because honestly, Kurt had been having _fun_. And frankly? Kurt felt that he deserved the break.

He was barely through the front door before Kurt spotted his father camped out on the recliner in front of the tv. Burt turned to look at Kurt over his shoulder, and Kurt felt his stomach knot when he realized that his dad was clearly waiting for him- and since it was only a little after nine, the impending 'talk' likely had nothing to do with a missed curfew.

He stepped fully through the door and set his book bag on the kitchen counter, eying his dad warily. "Hey, dad," Kurt greeted, hoping his voice sounded more casual to his dad's ears than it did to his own.

Burt sat up, folding the recliner's footrest as he stood and turned off the television.

Well _shit_.

Kurt attempted a smile when Burt made his way into the kitchen. "Sorry I missed dinner," he hedged, turning to pull his books from his bag if only to give him something to do. Kurt wasn't even sure _why_ he was so nervous to talk to his father- but he was.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Kurt hadn't exactly mentioned to Burt and Carole just yet that he and Blaine had broken up.

"I went to the Lima Bean after class and completely lost track of time," Kurt continued, pretending to flip through his physics text book.

"Yeah?" Burt leaned against the counter beside him. "You with Blaine?"

Kurt stiffened. He knew that tone.

_Goddammit, Finn._

"Actually I was with-" he paused at the last second, suddenly considering whether or not it was wise to mention to his dad that he had been with Sebastian- given as this time last week Kurt had been raving to his father about the "smirky little meerkat" and his obvious intent to steal Kurt's boyfriend. "-some of the guys from Dalton."

Burt's eyebrows rose. "Oh really? What were those Warbler kids doing way out in Lima?"

"I guess they came to see me," Kurt replied honestly, his brow furrowing slightly at his dad's tone. "They aren't just Blaine's friends, dad."

Burt had the grace to look apologetic at that. "That's not what I meant, kiddo." He tugged his ball cap from his head and scrubbed a hand over his non-existent hair. "Finn told me you and Blaine called it quits."

Kurt's breath caught at his dad's abrupt switch in tactics.

He stubbornly kept his gaze on his textbook even as he nodded.

"You plannin' on telling me what happened?"

"There's not much to tell," Kurt responded as indifferently as he could manage. "It's high school. People break up."

Burt, unsurprisingly, wasn't convinced. "Weren't you two supposed to be in love or something?"

Kurt couldn't help a derisive snort at that. "We were supposed to be."

His dad didn't miss the underlying sarcasm in the comment. "You can start talkin, Kurt, or I can start guessing. And you know if I start guessing we're gonna be here all night."

Kurt sighed, shifting to lean his hip against the counter and folding his arms over his stomach uncomfortably. "Blaine… got bored with me, I guess," he finally said, barely flicking his gaze up to meet his dad's for more than an instant. Whether or not the statement was actually more or less the truth, Kurt knew that his dad would be able to sense that there was more if he managed to catch Kurt's eye.

Burt had always told him that Kurt had his mother's eyes- and that they expressed every emotion Kurt felt, whether or not he wanted them to.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Burt snapped, straightening and folding his arms himself. Unlike Kurt, though, the movement wasn't done from discomfort. It was done out of hostility.

Kurt opened his mouth to respond, but no sound came. Really, how was he even supposed to explain what had happened to Burt when he wasn't even sure himself? Especially after everything Sebastian had told him the night before at the coffee shop.

Thankfully, Sam chose that moment to wander into the kitchen in search of a snack. He blinked as he came across father and son and paused in the doorway.

"Am I interrupting something?" Sam asked uncertainly, glancing between the pair uncomfortably.

Burt's expression softened a bit, but only because of the clear discomfort on Sam's face. "Nah, kid. You're fine," Kurt was surprised when his dad's gaze swung back to him then, apparently unfazed with having an audience. "Now, what do you mean that Blaine got bored with you, Kurt?"

This caught Sam's attention. The blonde paused, hand still extended from where he had reached out to pull open the fridge, before he turned to regard Kurt almost darkly.

Kurt glanced between the two men uneasily. Abruptly, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "I'm tired- I think I'm going to call it a night." It wasn't too far of a reach for Kurt to force his voice to sound absolutely wrecked. "I'm sorry, dad. We'll talk soon."

He was already gathering his book bag before his father could respond, but if there was one thing that ran in the Hummel blood, it was stubbornness. Kurt jumped when Burt simply snatched the backpack from his hands and set it back on the counter disinterestedly. He looked up in surprise, but his dad's gaze had swung over to Sam.

"Do you have any idea what the hell my son isn't telling me, Sam?" Burt's expression was tense, and the way that Sam's jaw was setting wasn't helping put Kurt at ease any.

Sam abandoned the pretense of searching for food and turned to face Burt, shoving his hands into the pockets of his worn out jeans and eying Kurt through his too-long bangs. "No, sir," he finally answered begrudgingly. He cut his gaze over to Kurt. "What do you mean that Blaine "got bored," dude? I told you yesterday- if I need to kick his ass, just say the word."

Burt's lips quirked at Sam's offer, much to Kurt's horror.

He _really_ didn't need his father and Sam bonding over a newfound hatred of Blaine Anderson- and so Kurt forced his mask back into place.

He pursed his lips and set his hands on his hips. "Have you _met_ me, Sam? I'm a prude. The only action Blaine Anderson is getting is from-" _every willing boy in western Ohio _"-well, you know." Kurt waved his hand expressively and was amazed when his voice still came out steady. "He was bound to get bored eventually."

Burt's lips tilted reluctantly, even as he clearly did his best to fight back the grin. He cleared his throat in an attempt to cover his painfully obvious pride at Kurt's words. "Well-good for you then, buddy."

Kurt shrugged flippantly, avoiding meeting anyone's eye. He could feel Sam watching him carefully, and Kurt was scared to death that Sam was seeing through a crack in his mask that Kurt had somehow missed.

He did the only thing he could do at that moment- he made a hasty retreat. "Yeah, I guess," Kurt still refused to look at Sam as he pushed away from the counter and moved past the other two men to make his way down to his room. "I'll see you both in the morning."

Later, only once he was alone and standing under the spray of a too-hot shower, Kurt allowed the proud glint he'd seen in his dad's eyes to break him.

xxx

On Thursday, Kurt decided that he couldn't continue skipping out of glee rehearsals- especially not in an effort to avoid Blaine Anderson. This was how he found himself making his way to the choir room with Quinn that afternoon once school had let out, and despite the feeling of dread twisting his stomach that Kurt just _couldn't shake_, he had to admit that he was looking forward to getting back into the normal groove of glee practice and all of the chaos it entailed.

Well, that was until they entered the classroom.

"Look, guys," Blaine was saying, standing in the center of the room in Schuester's usual spot, hands held out to the glee kids who were already sitting on the risers in a placating gesture. "What happened between Kurt and I is between _us_. I appreciate the concern, I do- you guys are all _amazing_. I was the one to break it off, yes, but it wasn't because of something that Kurt did-"

Kurt heard Quinn gasp lightly from his side, but it hardly registered. He was already seeing red when the other glee kids finally spotted the pair by the doorway, and when Rachel quickly shook her head at Blaine to silence him, Kurt was certain he blacked out for an instant.

An awkward silence fell over the classroom as Blaine twisted to face the doorway, frowning in bewilderment.

"I'm sorry to interrupt the gossip train, but I thought I'd keep Blaine from making an even bigger ass of himself by cutting his little speech short," Kurt let his voice lift airily, even though he was sure his expression was thunderous. He felt Quinn link her arm through his and somehow found the facilities to cover her hand with his own. The gesture was as comforting as it was grounding- and it thankfully kept Kurt from saying anything he would genuinely regret later. "He's right about one thing, though. Our breakup is our own business, and I would appreciate it if you would all allow it to stay that way."

Sam chose that moment to filter into the room with Mike, drawing Kurt's attention briefly. The blonde teen frowned in confusion as he took in the tense expressions and awkward quiet of the choir room before he turned his eyes to Kurt for explanation.

Kurt knew the second that Sam pieced together the puzzle, because the other teen simply moved to stand next to Kurt casually, one hand stuffed in the pocket of his letter jacket.

It was such a _Sam_ gesture. No questions, just support.

Blaine had the grace to look contrite, his face heating. "Kurt- that wasn't meant how it sounded. I was just asking everyone to leave you alone about it." He openly looked Kurt over, expression almost pained. When he continued, his voice had quieted. "You haven't even been to practice all week."

Kurt's jaw set, but he didn't even attempt to formulate a response to that. He wasn't sure he could trust what he _would_ say if he chanced opening his mouth at that point. He would either break down at the apparent sincerity of Blaine's words, or he would snap and say something scathing as a result of Storytime with Sebastian.

Luckily, it seemed that Quinn and Sam had decided to take over for the moment.

"Yes, and I wonder _why_ Kurt hasn't been to practice," Quinn mused, voice false and light. Her eyes were sharp, though, betraying her tone completely.

Sam shifted his hold on his backpack. "Maybe because everyone in here's been a _dick_ about everything since Tuesday." Kurt glanced at Sam at that, surprised to see him all but glaring at the gleesters that were still seated on the risers. "I know meddling in each others' relationships is kinda what we apparently _do_ in this club, but seriously- there's a line."

"And this is it," Quinn quickly added, no longer trying to mask the vitriol in her voice.

Rachel, of course, was the one to speak up in the other glee kids' defense. "We're just worried about Blaine and Kurt, you guys," her voice was raspy as a result of the strep she was apparently still working to recover from, but her eyes were bright and earnest as she looked between Kurt and Blaine beseechingly. "You guys are perfect together. We just don't want to see you _lose _that-"

"That's not your call, Rachel."

Rachel Berry, Kurt mused, was the only person alive who could somehow manage to look both contrite and offended in the same moment.

Luckily, Mr. Schuester chose that moment to finally make his way into the classroom, drawing everyone's eye. Kurt almost grinned at the warily confused expression twisting the music teacher's face, and he probably would have given into the urge if he hadn't still been so- well, pissed.

"C'mon, dude," Sam clapped a hand on the back of Kurt's neck and steered him towards the risers, Quinn in tow. The measured look that the two blondes offered Blaine in passing was enough to actually make Kurt's lips tilt reluctantly. Sam looked like he was keeping an eye on his prey, whereas Quinn simply eyed Blaine as if he were beneath her.

Sam led them to the back row of risers and dropped his backpack on the chair beside him before sinking into one of the seats. Kurt sat down and slid his own bag beneath his chair, and by the time that he had straightened Quinn was once again linking her arm through his.

Blaine finally managed to tear his gaze away from the trio long enough to claim a seat beside Rachel, but Kurt caught the raven twisting in his chair to scrutinize them from the corner of his eye several times during the day's lesson.

However, it only took Sam catching Blaine's glance once before Blaine spent the rest of the practice staring straight ahead, not daring to look back again.

xxx

Kurt couldn't even find it in himself to be surprised when, as he made his way into the Lima Bean that afternoon, he caught sight of a navy blazer camping out in the back corner of the coffeeshop. He simply shifted his hold on his messenger bag and made his way back to join Sebastian at what had apparently become their usual table.

His steps faltered, however, when Kurt noticed that his seat was currently occupied by a boy with sandy, shaggy hair. Judging by the way the teen was leaning over the table and towards Sebastian, the pair were clearly deep in _conversation_.

For a moment Kurt wasn't sure what to do with himself, caught halfway between the entrance and his usual table in the back without any way to make a casual detour back towards the barista stand. Luckily, Sebastian hadn't seemed to-

Sebastian chose that moment to glance up, his smarmy grin slipping when he noticed Kurt and transforming into something resembling an almost sincere smile. Kurt could only hold up a hand in a reluctant wave as he quickly stopped beside the nearest empty table to deposit his stuff as smoothly as he could manage.

"-hey, no. You've got to go now, dude," Sebastian smoothly interrupted his companion, shocking Kurt by shooing the blonde who had taken Kurt's usual seat. "No, I'm very serious. Beat it."

Kurt was sure his jaw actually dropped as he watched the blonde teen stand and shoot Sebastian a glare before stalking off, pausing only to shoot Kurt a scathing glance as he passed him.

"Hey there, Gayface," Sebastian offered in greeting, shifting back in his seat so his elbow was draped over the back of his chair in an impossibly casual movement. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show."

"Something tells me you wouldn't have been too lonely," Kurt deadpanned, even as he took his recently-vacated seat. He couldn't help but eye Sebastian curiously. "… You didn't have to send him off."

Sebastian only waved a hand dismissively. "Don't flatter yourself, Hummel- you just happened to wander in as I was kicking the poor bastard to the curb."

Kurt arched an eyebrow. "Oh? And what was wrong with Blondie? Aside from his ghastly taste in fashion, of course."

He pretended not to feel a little smug at the way his words caused Sebastian's lips to quirk in amusement.

"Too easy," Sebastian shrugged now, taking a drink of his coffee before blinking as he seemed to realize something. He lowered his cup to push a second coffee over to Kurt before setting his own cup back on the table. "I like a challenge."

Sebastian's eyes crinkled in amusement at Kurt's owlish scrutiny of the proffered coffee cup.

Kurt warily reached out and took the cup of coffee, tilting the cup to eye its contents dubiously through the tiny slit in the lid. He felt Sebastian's eyes on him and glanced up, nonplussed to find the other boy was in fact watching him in apparent entertainment. Still, Kurt narrowed his eyes almost playfully and took a pointed sip of the drink.

Caramel Macchiato. Of course.

He covered a sigh of contentment at the familiar taste and took a more substantial drink of the coffee before setting it back on the table beside his books. Kurt blinked owlishly after a moment. "I suppose I should have asked if you'd put something in that _before_ taking a drink."

Sebastian chuckled at that, shifting in his seat so his arms rested in his lap. "I guess it's a good thing that I didn't think that far ahead, then." He tilted his head and seemed to consider his words. "Well, it's a good thing for _you_," he rectified. "Honestly, I'm a little disappointed in myself now."

Kurt covered a smirk as he paused before taking another sip of his macchiato, the cup thankfully hiding the expression from Sebastian's view.

A moment of companionable silence passed between the pair before Sebastian spoke up again. "So, did Anderson give you a hard time today?"

The question was posed lightly, Sebastian's tone almost condescending, but Kurt noticed that the other boy's eyes were a touch too-sincere for the façade to be convincing. It unsettled Kurt a bit, to be honest.

"Nothing that I couldn't handle," he dismissed, pulling his Calculus book from his bag and crossing his legs idly. "Well- nothing I couldn't handle if Sam and Quinn would _let _me." He shot Sebastian a long-suffering glance.

The Warbler grinned, apparently genuinely amused at this piece of news as he leaned forward a bit in his seat. "Have you gone and gotten yourself a pair of guard dogs, then?"

Kurt gave a put-upon sigh. "I always said if I ever got a dog I wanted a Yorkie. Instead I've somehow ended up with a bloodhound and a Pomeranian- and let it be known, if they decide to start trying to hump each other again I'm getting them both neutered."

Now it was Kurt's turn to grin as Sebastian leaned his forehead against his palm, elbow braced on the table, and laughed as quietly as he could manage. The brunette shifted his hand to cover his mouth and he peered at Kurt, eyes still dancing in amusement.

"You have such a tough life, Hummel," he lamented, the words only slightly muffled by the hand still covering Sebastian's mouth.

Kurt lifted his eyes to the ceiling dramatically. "I'm just glad someone's finally taken notice after all of this time. You can't imagine what a tough load it's been to bare alone." He couldn't even be embarrassed at his inability to keep a straight face as he spoke, because it honestly felt _good_ to get away from the drama at McKinley, if only for a few hours, and laugh with Sebastian.

And if that statement wasn't testament to how screwed up Kurt Hummel's life had become, he didn't know what was.

Sebastian shook his head and straightened finally, lips still tilted in an amused smirk as he sat back in his seat and openly regarded Kurt. Kurt realized, distantly, that he had never seen Sebastian Smythe look as relaxed as he did in that moment.

"Well, Hummel, luckily for you that load isn't yours to bare alone anymore." Sebastian's lazy smirk was at odds with the intensity of his gaze, and it threw Kurt almost as much as the Warbler's words. "Like it or not, you're fucking stuck with me now."

Kurt's face flushed.

"Oh, goody."

His response was a beat too late and his voice a tad too breathless, but for once Sebastian Smythe didn't call him on it. Instead, the Warbler simply shook his head in amusement and fished out his own homework to set to work on, apparently deeming the Doctor Phil moment over and done with- much to Kurt's relief.

Kurt took his cue from his companion and actually opened his Calculus book to begin on the three-page worksheet his teacher had assigned that morning. It took him a moment to locate a pencil and his calculator, and by then Sebastian was already absorbed in what Kurt thought might have been his Roman Civilizations textbook. Kurt watched as Sebastian paused to scribble out a note on the pad of paper the Warbler had tucked under the edge of his textbook.

It took a moment for Kurt to realize that he had been staring at Sebastian for what had to be an inappropriate amount of time, but luckily the other boy was so focused on his note-taking that he didn't seem to notice. Kurt forced himself to turn his attention to his own homework then, and for the next couple of hours the pair worked on their respective assignments, falling into a companionable silence that, in all honesty, was more comfortable than it had any right to be.

xxx


	4. Track Four

Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry about the delayed update, but real life has gotten crazy lately. I'm moving in a little over a month at this point, and this week I've not only met my roommates, I've also found a house! Next comes the insanity of actually beginning to move into said house, so things might stay hectic for a little while. Oh- and did I mention that finals are in two weeks? And that I'm transferring schools next fall?

So yes, basically- real life is absolute_ insanity_ right now, so updates may be a little more sporadic for a while. I'm hoping to post an update for this at least once a week on Saturdays or Sundays- just to let you guys have a slight idea of the new posting schedule.

And for anyone who follows my other story, SOWK, I'm obviously wayyy behind in posting there. However, SOWK takes a lot more planning than Coffeeshop, so I'm looking at trying to get a solid update out once a month at this point in order to do the story justice.

One last announcement! If you haven't had a chance to check out my Livejournal account yet, I'm using the journal to post bonus material pertaining to Coffeeshop Soundtrack! I've just posted a teaser introduction to the Smythe siblings who will be making an appearance in this story soon. I'll also be posting links to any songs included in this story, and ultimately I hope to figure out how to create a playlist to share with you guys! As you might have guessed from the title, the music of this story will play a strong role in the storyline, and I want to share that music with you guys! Also, if you have a song that you think fits with a particular scene or that you identify with this story, send it my way! I love finding new music, and who knows? It just might end up in the story.

Alright, enough blabbing. On with the story!

Coffeeshop Soundtrack

**Track Four**

"Alright," Kurt declared, setting his Calculus homework aside and sitting back in his seat. He folded his legs primly and clasped his hands over his knee, eying Sebastian expectantly.

Sebastian glanced up and seemed surprised by Kurt's suddenly no-nonsense expression. The other boy blinked owlishly once before closing his own textbook slowly, his eyes never leaving Kurt's. "… Alright?" he prompted, voice a bit more dramatically wary than the situation called for—or at least in Kurt's opinion.

"I've been considering what you told me about Blaine—and I've encountered a few discrepancies with your theory."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at that. "I wouldn't call it a 'theory' seeing as it's actually based in _fact_, but go on."

Kurt continued on as if the other boy had never spoken. "In the event that all you've said is true-" Kurt arched an eyebrow when Sebastian made to interrupt him. He couldn't help a triumphant smirk when the Warbler simply pursed his lips against his remark. "—Then explain to me the logic behind Blaine switching schools to be with me, for one, and furthermore why he spend almost _six months_ on a supposed 'chase.'"

"Honestly, Hummel?" Sebastian tilted his head, watching Kurt with an expression that Kurt couldn't quite decipher. "Both of those reasons are why I thought that you two were actually serious. Generally Blaine doesn't…" he trailed off for a moment, as if to search for the correct wording, "—he doesn't usually become so invested. His conquests normally last a couple of weeks at most, and that's only if they can hold his attention that long. When I came back to Dalton and caught word of him transferring to McKinley to be with his boyfriend…"

The brunette shook his head with a small laugh. "Let's just say that I was intrigued."

"You're not exactly building a solid argument for your case, Smythe," Kurt pointed out, tilting his head consideringly.

Sebastian lifted a brow. "I was under the impression that you were looking for honesty."

"And I was under the impression that your definition of that word was murky at best."

Kurt's quip seemed to catch Sebastian off-guard, for the brunette actually drew back slightly as if Kurt had physically struck him before his trademark smirk was back, firmly in place. For one reason or another, the sudden transition bothered Kurt more than he wanted to admit.

Rather than allow himself to marinate on that, he simply pushed on. "I'm not accusing you of lying, Smythe. I just can't wrap my head around Blaine's angle if he were actually just spending the last six months playing some game to get into my pants." He let his gaze drop to his closed textbook, undoubtedly frowning at the text as if it had somehow personally offended him, but Kurt figured it was better than directing the look Sebastian's way at that point. "Either Blaine should be seeking professional help, or…"

He trailed off, unwilling to voice the rest of the thought. Unsurprisingly, it seemed that Sebastian was able to fill in the blanks without Kurt's guidance.

"Or it was real," Sebastian concluded tactlessly. Kurt reluctantly lifted his gaze from his Calculus book but couldn't quite meet the Warbler's eyes, sure that they would give away everything else that Kurt was trying his damndest _not_ to say. "And you're afraid of that… why?"

When Kurt refused to answer, Sebastian only saw it fit to pose an even more complicated question.

Sebastian shifted in his seat slightly, bracing his elbows on the table and taking a careful breath, as if preparing himself for a "serious talk" of sorts. Kurt realized, with no small amount of horror, that the brunette's actions reminded him all too much of when Kurt's dad had tried to give him _the _talk. His expression must have betrayed that horror, because Sebastian's expression turned almost comically quizzical.

Kurt flushed but shook his head dismissively. He absolutely did _not_ want to try explaining his thought process to the other boy. He received a quirked brow for his efforts, but Kurt was thankful Sebastian let the moment drop.

"Even _if_ what you had with Blaine was…" Sebastian trailed off, actually grimacing as if the word he was searching for actually tasted foul on his tongue, "_real_, answer this- so what?"

Kurt frowned, perplexed. "What do you mean, 'so what?'"

Sebastian simply regarded Kurt. "What does it change? Conquest or lover, Blaine ended it either way."

"My concern at this point isn't over whether or not the relationship is _over_, Smythe. However, if Blaine _wasn't_ just playing me, then there's still a chance that I can at least be friends with him after this." Kurt was surprised at how scathing his tone had become. He curled his hands in his lap to try and ground himself, to give him a chance to rope his emotions back in line.

Surprised flashed across Sebastian's face. "Even after you've gone through all of his dirty laundry?"

Kurt gave him a look. "I haven't 'gone through' anything. But…" he trailed off, considering. After only a moment's hesitation Kurt nodded firmly. "Yes. Even knowing about Blaine's sordid little affairs. I've never known him as that person, so I have no room to judge him as if I did."

The tiny smirk playing across Sebastian's lips threw Kurt. Anything else he was about to say was forgotten as he narrowed his eyes warily, scrutinizing his companion. "…what?"

"I'm impressed," Sebastian mused, smirk still firmly in place as he openly gave Kurt a once over. "I expected you to be a lot more 'vindictive bitch' about all of this."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure there was a compliment in there."

Sebastian shrugged smugly. "Only if you knew where to look."

"I'm not strip-searching you," Kurt deadpanned.

The Warbler laughed, the sound almost delighted. "Been thinking of ways to get me naked, have you, Hummel?"

Kurt's gaze narrowed in a glare, but his grin ruined the facade. "More like trying to think of ways to keep your clothes _on_, Smythe."

"Well that's a damn shame," Sebastian quipped, not missing a beat. He lifted his coffee cup to his lips and took a too-casual sip. "Because rumor has it I'm absolutely _devastating_ beneath this blazer."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "A rumor only counts when you don't start it yourself, Sebastian."

Sebastian probably should have looked more offended at the remark, but as it were he simply huffed out a laugh and shook his head.

"You're such a bitch, Kurt," he declared, offering the most half-hearted of glares before he made a show of returning to his homework.

The transition was so natural that Kurt didn't catch it until much later that night, during his drive home from the coffee shop. Even then, the realization that he and Sebastian had somehow slipped into calling the other by their given names only brought a soft smile to Kurt's lips, and the rest of the drive home was spent pointedly _not_ contemplating what else might have begun shifting between he and Sebastian.

xxx

Finn was camped out on the living room couch when Kurt finally made it home later that night.

He had barely made it through the garage door before Kurt spotted Finn's head poking over the back of the couch in the other room, regarding him through half-open eyes. A glance at the television told Kurt that his step-brother had wasted yet another day marathoning _1000 Ways to Die_, and he had the misfortunate of glancing at the screen just as the narrator was explaining exactly _how_ a man had wound up dead after peeing on an electric fence.

Honestly.

"Where've you been?" Finn inquired around an uncovered yawn, folding his arms over the back of the couch and twisting to regard Kurt more openly. Or at least, that's what Kurt _assumed_ his step-brother had asked. Finn's throat was still raw and his sinuses congested, so his query had actually sounded something closer to "_'ere y'ben_?"

Kurt moved into the living room and dropped onto the loveseat adjacent to Finn. His nose wrinkled as he gained a better glimpse at the disaster area that surrounded Finn's nest on the couch, littered with empty Gatorade bottles, candy bar wrappers, and used kleenexes. "The Lima Bean," he finally replied, only once Finn had taken notice of his clear disgust.

Finn blinked. "Dude, it's like- eight."

Kurt spared a glance at the clock hanging over the entertainment center. "So it is."

"You've been there since _three_?" Finn clarified, shifting on the couch to tug his comforter (which had _somehow_ made its way off of Finn's bed and downstairs) higher. "Wait. Were you with the Warbler dudes again?"

"Only one of them," Kurt replied simply. He slumped back against the back of the loveseat and kicked off his shoes, covering a sigh. He had never expected to find himself sitting in the chairs at the Lima Bean long enough to warrant the need to complain over their discomfort, but after the last few nights Kurt was considering sneaking a pillow in his bag simply to spare his ass the pain.

Though he'd refrain of course, if only to avoid Sebastian's commentary on the matter.

Kurt glanced up when he heard a pair of footsteps on the stairs behind him.

Sam came down the stairs, clad in a worn pair of navy sweatpants and a white undershirt and shaking his still-shower damp hair out of his eyes. When he spotted Kurt and Finn camped out in the living room he circled around the couch and dropped into the recliner opposite Kurt.

"Bout time you wandered in, dude. Finn was gonna send out a search party-"

"I was not!" Finn quickly protested, sitting upright and twisting to glare at Sam as if the blonde had deeply wronged him. "I-"

Sam simply arched an eyebrow, mouth tilted in a grin. "Dude."

Finn's rant was effectively cut-short, though Kurt had a suspicion it was only because Finn had managed to lose track of the conversation somehow. Kurt had learned early on that Finn was hopelessly loopy when medicated. Even on drugstore cough syrup.

Kurt and Sam shared an amused glance at Finn's expense.

"Wait, we were talking about something," Finn swung his dopey frown back towards Kurt, lifting a finger to point at the other boy thoughtfully. Kurt only raised an eyebrow and worked to pull a straight face. "Gargling- wait, were we talking about mouthwash?"

Kurt couldn't help but drop his face into his palm at that, snickering despite his best attempts not to.

"Gargling?" Sam clarified, voice relaying his bemusement so effectively that Kurt didn't even need to lift his head to know the blonde was grinning.

"As far as I know, we were discussing the _Warblers_, but in Finn's current state…"

Finn scowled, folding his arms sulkily. "You guys are real jerks, you know th-"

And then he dissolved into a fit of coughing, earning sympathetic grimaces from the other boys.

Kurt took that as his cue and reluctantly rose to his feet. He crossed over to the television and turned it off with a tap of a button before turning to face Finn, folding his arms. "Alright, Finn. Enough with the marathons- you need to _sleep_."

Finn immediately began sputtering. "What? Kurt, it's on-" Kurt lifted an eyebrow to wait for Finn's newest coughing fit to finish before his step-brother could continue his thought, "-only eight-thirty. I'm not even-"

"Weren't you asleep a half-hour ago?" Sam inquired helpfully, voice as dry as it was sarcastic.

"Well maybe that's why I'm not tired now."

Kurt's eyebrows flew to his hairline at the petulant tone Finn had resorted to. The other boy went gone so far as to slump deeply into the couch so that his head hardly peaked over the comforter's edge, but even then Kurt could see that Finn was crossing his arms stubbornly.

If the day came that Kurt ever decided he didn't want children, he could safely bet that it would be entirely Finn's doing.

Carole chose that moment to make her way from the back bedroom. Judging from the amused glance she gave Kurt as she moved to stand behind the couch, it was obvious that she had overheard her son's grousing. Kurt fought a grin at the long-suffering eye roll she gave.

"Finn Hudson," she began, valiantly fighting back a grin when Finn bolted upright at the sudden sound of his mother's voice, "You make your way up to your room before you fall asleep on that couch again. I did _not_ buy you a new bed so that you could camp out in the living room."

Kurt and Sam exchanged a glance, neither boy bothering to hide their smirks.

Finn grumbled out something that Kurt thought sounded like a "yes ma'am" before he begrudgingly began to gather his comforter and pillows off of the sofa.

"And clean up all of that trash, honey. Just because you aren't feeling well doesn't give you an excuse to turn into a pig." Carole added, leaning over the back of the couch to pat Finn's cheek lovingly before making her way into the kitchen. "Kurt, there are leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry."

Kurt blinked even as his hand went automatically to his stomach. As if on cue, his gut gave a particularly loud growl, reminding him that he'd only had three cups of coffee and half a biscotti to eat since lunch. "That's great, Carole. Thanks."

He made his way into the kitchen and found that Carole was already reheating the plate of food in the microwave. Kurt allowed a tiny, fond smile and slipped into one of the bar chairs to watch his step-mother mill about the kitchen.

Carole glanced over at him with a knowing tilt to her lips, apparently fully aware of Kurt's scrutiny as she turned from the microwave and leaned her hip against the counter. She folded her arms and gave Kurt a brief once-over.

"Did you have a good time at the Lima Bean, honey?" she inquired lightly, the warmth of her gaze causing Kurt to flush lightly. He sat up a bit straighter under his step-mother's scrutiny, if only because it was still so foreign to Kurt.

"I did. I managed to get all of my homework knocked out, which is nothing short of a sign of the impending apocalypse." Kurt rolled his eyes dramatically. "Especially considering the company."

Carole lifted an eyebrow knowingly. "I'd say you can't mind the company too much seeing as you've all but been attached at the hip this week."

Clearly Finn's illness actually _was_ quite contagious, because Kurt found himself sputtering as he tried to formulate _some_ kind of response to Carole's claim.

Sam had of course followed Kurt into the kitchen by then. "Seriously, dude. You've been hanging at the Bean with Sebastian more than you've been home. Is there something you need to tell us?" He smirked almost impishly and leaned against the counter behind him, folding his arms lazily.

Kurt scowled at him. "Of course not," he countered sharply, mirroring Sam's stance in annoyance. "I can hang out with a member of the same sex without romantic connotations, Samuel Evans. I hang out with you and Finn all of the time, don't I?"

"Didn't you used to have a crush on both of us?" Sam responded innocently, doing absolutely nothing to hide the way his grin only widened.

This of course earned a positively dangerous glare from Kurt. Luckily, the microwave chose that moment to sound, and Kurt took that as his cue to make an exit. He lifted his chin and quickly retrieved his food from the microwave, pausing only to snag a fork from a nearby drawer before making a break for the safety of his room.

"I'm taking my dinner downstairs," he huffed, beginning down the steps to his room without waiting for a response. "Goodnight."

Kurt pretended not to notice the laughter that followed him down the stairs.

xxx

When Kurt had mentioned that Finn's illness was clearly contagious, he honestly hadn't been referring to his step-brother's strep throat. However, it seemed that the universe at large had once again missed out on his sarcasm, because the following morning Kurt was beginning to feel the tell-tale tickle in the back of his throat that usually left him without a voice within a week.

Needless to say his mood wasn't the best as he made his way across McKinley's parking lot on Friday morning. Finn was actually making a reappearance at school that day, and so he and Sam had driven separately since they had football practice both that morning and afternoon. Not that Kurt would admit it, but he felt a little off-kilter without Sam shadowing his every move.

He had barely made it through the doorway to the South hall when Kurt suddenly found himself flung into the nearest row of lockers. The metal was unforgiving against his back, and the force of the blow punched the air from Kurt's lungs.

Luckily, Kurt was a veteran of violent locker-shoves, and so he was able to gather his bearings in time to spot Azimio and Rashad walking away. It took a beat longer, but he was even able to more or less decipher the football players' parting taunt through the ringing in his head.

"Better watch yourself, Az. You're pushin' around royalty now'days."

Kurt's jaw clenched but he bit back a retort, knowing full well that causing a scene would be less than helpful. He let his eyes slip closed as he struggled to dispel the ringing from his ears and gather himself again. It only took a second, but when Kurt regained his equilibrium he was able to push away from the locker and continue on to class with his chin lifted indignantly, not sparing a glance to any of the students who had stood witness to the encounter.

He knew better than to expect their sympathy, and he damn well didn't want it either.

When he took his seat in his homeroom class next to Rachel, the tiny brunette immediately took note of his expression.

"Headache?" Rachel inquired, already twisting to retrieve her purse to pull out a bottle of Advil.

If there was one thing Kurt had learned to truly admire about the female gender, it was their ability to stuff a seemingly endless plethora of supplies in small bags.

He nodded and pressed two fingers to his temple, though it was more a show for Rachel than it was an effort to ward off his supposed headache. "I think Finn got me sick," he groused. It was a half-truth, at least.

Rachel scowled playfully as she offered Kurt the two pills she'd shaken out into her palm. "Well you keep your germs to yourself, Kurt Hummel. We can't have another incident like the mono-epidemic last year."

"I'd hardly call that an epidemic," Kurt intoned dryly, pausing only to pop the medicine into his mouth and swallow it dryly—with a theatrical grimace, of course. "It was only Finn and Quinn."

"Who are both crucial members of the club," Rachel countered, rearranging her books and notebooks on her desk a bit obsessively. "Epidemic or not, it was still a disaster."

Rather than continuing to argue with Rachel, Kurt merely rolled his eyes and retrieved his own supplies from his bag. He pulled out his Calculus homework and set it aside when Rachel's sudden gasp caught his attention. His eyes widened slightly as he glanced at her. "What?"

"You actually finished the homework?" Rachel scowled lightly as she leaned over Kurt's shoulder, apparently forgetting her instructions to keep his "germs to himself" as she glanced over the worksheet. "How? I swear we haven't even gone over half of this. Coach Sylvester couldn't actually have expected us to have it done today—could she?"

The last bit of the girl's rant was added almost fearfully as she straightened and began looking over her own paper.

"I had help," Kurt shrugged.

This of course earned another curious glance from Rachel. "From whom?"

Kurt fought a sigh—of course Rachel would ask that question. However, his morning had already been a bit too-eventful for his taste, so he settled on a vague response. "I saw one of the guys from Dalton at the Lima Bean yesterday. This stuff is like basic addition compared to their curriculum."

Rachel blinked. "Oh."

At that moment Azimio made his way into the classroom, 'casually' shifting his hold on his backpack as he passed by Kurt and Rachel's desk so that his bag knocked Kurt's books to the floor. Azimio barely spared Kurt a glance as he laughed out a _very_ unapologetic "oh, my bad princess," before continuing towards the back row of seats where a few other members of the team were already camped out. Kurt's shoulders stiffened impossibly.

After taking a measured breath, he bent to retrieve his books- but Blaine beat him to it.

"I see Azimio's back to his old tricks," Blaine grumbled, his gaze raking over Kurt's face in concern as he gathered the fallen book and papers. Even after he handed Kurt his things he remained in a crouch beside his desk. "How bad?"

Kurt's breath caught at the quiet, knowing edge to Blaine's voice. His own expression abruptly closed off.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied shortly, taking his books and setting them back on the corner of his desk and turning his attention to the front of the classroom. "But… thank you," he added as an afterthought. He tapped his pen against the cover of his book, glancing reluctantly back at Blaine.

The other boy offered an uncertain half-smile before finally rising to his feet, putting a hand on Kurt's arm and squeezing lightly. "You can still talk to me, you know."

Actually, talking to Blaine would be one of Kurt's _last _options, but Kurt possessed enough tact not to say as much. He instead nodded tightly and turned his attention back to the front of the classroom in time to spot Coach Sylvester entering the room, whistle already raised to her lips. He managed not to flinch _too much_ when the shrill whistle sounded, but he was surprised to find himself fighting a grin when Blaine jumped beside him in surprise, twisting his neck until he spotted the coach and promptly hurrying to the raven's own seat.

Rachel chose that moment to clear her throat lightly, drawing Kurt's attention. He lifted one eyebrow elegantly at the girl's expression, noting how Rachel was sitting a bit too-straight in her seat and looking a little too politely disinterested. He almost dropped his face into his palm when she finally allowed an impish grin to break through her casual demeanor, clearly delighted in witnessing the exchange between he and Blaine.

"I told you, Kurt. It's only high school. If two people are meant to be together, they'll find a way."

Kurt spent the rest of the hour wondering if things really were that simple in Rachel's mind, or if the girl was simply so delusional that she had effectively found a way to brainwash herself.

He was putting money on the latter.

xxx


	5. Track Five

Author's Note: Oh my goodness, this chapter. Kurt is apparently just having quite the eventful Friday night, because I _still_ didn't manage to squeeze all of Open Mic Night into this. However, even though this chapter is a few days late, it's also several pages longer- so it's not a complete loss!

Excuse any rough patches. This chapter kicked my ass.

Coffeeshop Soundtrack

Track Five

Looking back, it was honestly only a matter of time before the glee club turned on Kurt.

And by turned on him, he meant that they elected to dedicate a song to his and Blaine's apparently "imminent" reconciliation—and in the form of a recycled song, no less.

Yes, looking back, Kurt should have known to bolt when he neared the choir room and could already recognize the beginnings of the club's rendition of _My Life Would Suck Without You_. However, in true Hummel style, Kurt's curiosity had won out and he'd warily entered the choir room… only to be tugged to the center of the room and shoved into an awaiting plastic chair next to Blaine.

In the other boy's defense, Blaine looked just as bewildered and terrified by the club's display as Kurt felt, so Kurt couldn't even force himself to scowl at the boy beside him. Then again, that might be because Rachel chose that moment to grab his face in either of her hands and begin singing the opening line of the song.

If Kurt's eyes could have become any wider in horror they would have literally rolled right out of his head.

"Guys—" Blaine attempted to stammer, holding his hands up in what was meant to be a pacifying gesture but, when paired with the raven's own terrified expression, looked more like the motion was meant as a surrender.

Blaine's admittedly weak bequest went unheeded as the club launched into the chorus of the number, and Kurt folded his arms over his stomach and settled for glowering at the group until they were finished singing.

This was how he noticed that neither Sam nor Quinn were even in the room, and that Mercedes had chosen to sit back on the risers and fix her lip gloss rather than participate in the number. From the uncertain glances that she kept shooting in Kurt's direction when she thought he wasn't looking, though, it was clear that Mercedes wasn't sure if her lack of participation was appreciated or offensive. Most of the former Troubletones were sitting with Mercedes, and Brittany was talking quietly to Santana about something rather than paying any attention to the spectacle the rest of the club was making of itself.

Whether the girls weren't participating in the number because they simply didn't care about Kurt's love-life or if they were doing it out of some form of protest, Kurt couldn't be sure—but he found he appreciated their silence either way. He attempted to shoot Mercedes a small smile to show as much, but from the way her brows furrowed in concern Kurt was sure that the expression had come out as little more than a grimace.

He turned his attention back to the train-wreck of a performance in front of him and chose to scowl at Finn through the rest of the number. Admittedly Kurt hadn't spoken to Finn much about his split with Blaine, but he honestly hadn't expected Finn to readily jump on board the _KurtandBlaine_ train once news of its derailment had spread.

Then again, Kurt hadn't taken Rachel's views on the matter into account, and that was likely his fatal mistake. Kurt loved his step-brother—he did—but he would be an idiot not to see how easily Finn allowed himself to be manipulated by his girlfriends. If Rachel had made it her mission to get Kurt and Blaine back together, then it was only a matter of time before she convinced Finn to help her in her plight.

Finally—_finally_—the song came to a close.

Blaine glanced at Kurt, clearly unsure of how to react to any of the mess before them, before he uncertainly raised his hands in a broken, half-hearted clap. He stopped instantly at the glare that Kurt gave him for the action and dropped his hands into his lap.

"Uhm—thanks, you guys. But—"

Kurt cut Blaine's stammering short. "—but that was completely inappropriate," he snapped, lifting his chin to stare down each of the glee clubbers gathered around his and Blaine's chairs. From the corner of his eye Kurt thought he saw Mercedes breathe a sigh of relief. "And even more unappreciated."

Rachel's mouth actually dropped as she exchanged a bewildered glance with Tina.

"_Kurt_, we just wanted to show you and Blaine—"

"Your _support_?" Kurt's tone was razor sharp. "Perhaps you should consider showing us your 'support' by leaving us _alone_."

"Kurt," Blaine reprimanded, shifting uneasily in his chair beside Kurt's and tugging at the denim of his jeans in an old, nervous habit. "They're just trying to help."

Kurt's glare intensified. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

At his accusation the room fell dead silent, shocked at both the iciness of Kurt's tone and the brutality of his words. Blaine looked just as taken aback as the rest of them, his eyes wide and his jaw slightly dropped, mouth working wordlessly**.**

"What the hell's all of this?"

All heads snapped towards the door where Sam was standing, his jaw set as he glanced around the choir room darkly. Kurt hated to admit it, but even he was startled by the gravity behind Sam's glare.

Sam strode fully into the choir room then and made his way over to Kurt. He shot Finn a loaded glance as he brushed past the quarterback and offered Kurt a hand up.

Kurt glanced at Sam's hand warily but took it anyways, barely holding back a noise of surprise when the other boy used the hold to pull Kurt unceremoniously to his feet. Thankfully Kurt managed to keep his balance despite his surprise, but he was sure his eyes were as wide as saucers as Sam stepped purposefully in front of him, effectively situating himself between Kurt and the rest of the glee club.

"This stops _now_," Sam growled, his gaze fixed on Rachel. "If Kurt and Blaine want to fix things then it's _their _call, Rachel. _Not_ yours. You can't keep meddling in everyone's relationships like it's some sort of _game_."

Kurt did a poor job of hiding a flinch at Sam's wording and quickly cut his gaze to the side, his jaw setting as he forced himself back into the haughty mask that he'd worn most of his junior year.

The mask felt foreign now—wrong. It didn't stop him from clinging to it.

Rachel glanced between Finn and Sam desperately, hooking her arm with Finn's as she turned beseeching eyes on Sam. Kurt could see the way her gaze kept flicking past Sam to try and catch Kurt's eye, but he kept his own gaze purposefully diverted. "We just want to see them happy, Sam," Rachel finally replied, voice soft and confused. "They're our friends. Kurt's one of my _best _friends—"

"Then leave him alone, Rachel. The only thing you're making Kurt right now is miserable."

"Sam," Finn finally interjected, his voice equal parts incredulous and bewildered, "C'mon. Don't you think you're being a little harsh here? We're just trying to show these guys our support."

Sam quirked a brow. "Is that what Rachel told you?"

When Kurt chanced a glance at Rachel, he instantly recognized the tell-tale flush staining her cheeks- and Finn's answering blush.

"Kurt's my brother, dude," Finn mumbled, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Blaine makes him happy."

Kurt blinked in surprise at that and found himself meeting Finn's eyes over Sam's shoulder. He flushed slightly at the way that Finn held his gaze, his next words clearly meant for Kurt alone.

"You deserve to be happy, Kurt—if I'm wrong, and Blaine can't do that anymore? Then just tell me and I'll drop it. The only side I'm on in all of this is yours."

Sam's shoulders finally lost some of their tension, and even from behind the blonde Kurt knew that Sam's expression had done the same. Mind you, he couldn't tell for certain or anything since he could hardly see through the tears that had sprung to his eyes.

Then Finn held his arms out, just the way he had when Kurt had made his return to McKinley after a semester at Dalton, and Kurt didn't think before he stepped around Sam and fell into Finn's embrace. He wound his arms tightly around Finn and hid his face in his brother's chest in hopes of hiding the tears he couldn't quite choke back, but Finn only curled his arms around Kurt's shoulders and hugged him tight.

"I'm sorry, dude," Finn mumbled, tilting his cheek against Kurt's hair carefully. "I should have asked you first."

Kurt only shook his head and tightened his arms around Finn. He could still feel Sam's presence close behind him, and for once Kurt didn't feel an ounce of fear upon finding himself caught between a pair of jocks.

Instead, it felt a lot like coming home.

Finn cleared his throat but still didn't drop his hold on Kurt's shoulders. "Mr. Schuester still hasn't shown up, so I guess we're not having practice today. Which is probably a good thing now. So… uh," Kurt felt Finn lean back enough for the other boy to look down at him and Kurt reluctantly lifted his own head to glance up at his step-brother. "You ready to go home?"

Kurt hoped his smile didn't come across as too wobbly. He stepped back from Finn's hold and swiped at his eyes with his hand as subtly as he could manage before nodding. "Yeah," he glanced back at Sam, who was only watching him with the tiniest of grins, "Let's go home."

xxx

By the time the three boys made it back to the Hudson-Hummel residence, the clock was already showing it was nearing four-thirty.

Kurt's eyes widened in panic at the realization and darted downstairs to his room, dropping his book bag at the foot of the stairs as he began working to unwind his scarf from around his neck. He paced over to his closet and barely kept himself from dropping the scarf to the floor in his haste- instead settling for hanging it over his closet doorknob instead. At least the garment wouldn't wrinkle.

He was so caught up in a frantic perusal of his closet that Kurt didn't even notice the twin sets of footsteps on the stairs behind him, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when Sam spoke from his place at the foot of the stairs.

"Hot date?"

Kurt jumped and spun, blinking wide eyes as he took notice of the two boys that had apparently decided to follow him down to his room. Finn had already taken up residence on Kurt's couch and was eying him curiously, while Sam was leaning against the stairwell wall with his arms folded lazily. The knowing smirk on the blonde's face was unnerving at best, and despite himself Kurt felt his face flushing.

"Of course not," he still managed to huff. He folded his arms in a mimicry of Sam's stance and glanced between the two boys. "It's Open Mic Night at the Lima Bean- I'm supposed to be meeting some of the Warbler boys there to check out the event."

Sam's smirk only widened. "Is Sebastian going to be there?"

Once again, Sam's words only made Kurt blink in bewilderment. "As far as I know…?" he responded carefully, his words as much a question as Sam's had been.

He was horrified when Finn and Sam shared a conspiring grin at the confirmation.

"So this Open Mic thing- it's like singing and stuff, right?" Finn asked curiously. He slumped further into Kurt's couch and kicked his feet up on the coffee table, though his feet quickly dropped back to the floor at the glare he received from Kurt for the action.

Kurt turned back to his closet and began flicking carefully through the hangers. "Yes, Finn. I'm actually surprised we haven't heard anything about it in glee club. I expected Miss Rachel Berry to be all over this type of soiree."

Even though his back was turned, Kurt could picture Finn's face as he worked to figure out the meaning of "soiree." As it were, Kurt didn't bother to glance back as he helped his step-brother fill in the blank. "It's a party, Finn."

"Oh," there was a tinge of embarrassed amusement in the single syllable, and it only earned a raised eyebrow from Kurt. "Well actually I think Rachel mentioned something about it Tuesday or something. It was one of the days you skipped."

Kurt's gaze flicked to the ceiling in annoyance. Whoever _might_ be up there was certainly doing their best to have a laugh at Kurt's expense today. Or this week. Or- y'know- since Kurt's birth.

When Kurt glanced back at the other two boys it was to find that Sam had joined Finn on the couch and was watching him flit through his wardrobe boredly.

"D'you think the Dalton dudes would mind you bringing a plus one?" Sam glanced at Finn. "Or- uh, plus two?"

Kurt's eyes narrowed warily. "… why?"

Finn shrugged. "Well. The swa-party thing sounds kinda fun- or at least more fun than hanging around here and destroying Sam on Call of Duty-"

Sam blinked. "What? I'm pretty sure _I _kick _your-_"

"That's not important," Finn dismissed quickly, waving a hand to bat Sam's defense away as if it were a fly. "What I'm saying is that we wanna go," he hooked a thumb between Sam and himself, "but we don't want to deal with all of the drama going on in glee club right now. Besides," Finn's face split into an almost dopey grin, "we've never gone out just the three of us before. Like- bros, and all of that."

Kurt couldn't decide whether he was touched, or if Finn was just touched in the head. "I- Finn. A few of the boys from Dalton will be there so it wouldn't be just _us_," he hesitated, glancing between Sam and Finn warily. Despite himself, Kurt couldn't quite shake the feeling that he was walking into some sort of practical joke. "But… if you and Sam wanted to tag along I won't object."

Sam's brow was furrowed slightly and he was eying Kurt curiously, but Kurt pretended not to notice and turned his attention back to his closet.

"What time are we leaving?" Sam finally inquired, seeming to have decided to bite back whatever had prompted the blonde's thoughtful frown.

"They're expecting me around six."

Sam sat up then, clapping a hand on Finn's leg to startle the other boy into action as well. "Well then- I guess we'd better go get ready. C'mon, man."

Finn shoved to his feet and shot Kurt another grin, swiping his hands over the thighs of his jeans as he turned to make his way up the stairs. "Don't leave without us, Kurt!"

Kurt rolled his eyes good-naturedly, but the tiny smile playing across his lips gave him away. He watched the two football players troop up the stairs to the kitchen fondly. After a moment, he shook his head and turned back to his closet, plucking out a handful of hangers before making his way to his bathroom to begin getting ready for the night.

xxx

The trio had hardly set foot inside of the coffeeshop when Kurt spotted a familiar group of boys sitting near the Lima Bean's stage (really, it wasn't even a stage—more like a platform that a guy with a guitar _might_ be able to balance on). Any excitement that he might have felt upon spotting the group of Warblers quickly diminished, however, when Kurt spotted an all too familiar head of black curls sitting amongst the other teens.

Kurt's jaw set as he watched Blaine talk animatedly with the other Warblers, the raven's hands waving about excitedly as he narrated what appeared to be quite the interesting story, if judging only by the way that he seemed to easily hold the rest of the table's undivided attention. The sudden stab of jealousy that curled up tight in Kurt's chest caught him by surprise-especially when he noticed that Sebastian was sitting next to Blaine and nodding along intently with the other boy's words.

"Aren't we going to go sit down?" Sam inquired slowly, glancing between the Warblers and Kurt in wary confusion. It clearly had taken the other two boys a moment longer to recognize the group of Warblers (who had, for once, forgone their trademark blazers in favor of equally expensive-looking street clothes), but they seemed not to have noticed Blaine's presence just yet since the raven's back was towards the door.

"Uhm," Kurt stammered, searching desperately for an excuse to find a table of their own. "Actually—let's just go get some coffee first."

Sure, prolong the dreaded moment of encounter. That would work for now.

"I'll catch up with you guys. I have to pee," Finn announced, barely glancing at Sam and Kurt before abruptly making his way through the crowd of milling teenagers in search of the bathroom.

Kurt and Sam could only watch him disappear in bewilderment, though neither seemed that honestly disturbed by Finn's random declaration. They both lived with the quarterback, after all- Finn's unpredictability eventually became pretty standard when one was faced with it 24/7.

Sam finally shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets, clearly missing the uneasy note in Kurt's words thanks to Finn's random exit. "Alright, but you're buying. I'm still broke."

This made Kurt roll his eyes, thankfully distracting him as he and Sam made his way past the rambunctious group of boys and to the coffee counter. Kurt didn't even think to spare the table a glance in passing, which worked perfectly with his plan to pretend like he had (somehow) managed not to notice the group of boys just yet. "Sam, my dad gave you a debit card. You're not broke—you're stubborn."

"I'm not using your dad's money, Kurt," Sam countered, voice equally as exasperated as Kurt's had been. Then again, it wasn't like this was the first time that Sam and Kurt had found themselves having this argument, so that likely played a role in their put-upon tones.

"It's not my dad's money if he _gave_ it to you, Sam." Kurt shot Sam a look as they took their spot at the back of the line. He went so far as to fold his arms and shift his weight to one foot so that his hip was jutted out, giving the boy his finest "bitch, please" stare.

Sam was unfazed by Kurt's bitch-stare and simply raised an eyebrow in return. "I'm not some charity case, dude."

Kurt blinked, façade effectively ruined. "And just who in the hell said anything about charity?" he snapped, straightening to draw himself up to his full height—which, regrettably, still didn't surpass Sam's. "You're family now, Samuel. What part of that isn't sinking past that dreadful dye job of yours?"

"I _thought_ I heard a cat screaming," a new voice piped up cheerfully from behind Kurt and Sam, causing the other two boys to twist to face the newcomer in surprise. Kurt's gaze narrowed as he met Sebastian's condescending grin, and only the tell-tale crinkling of the brunette's eyes kept Kurt from fully unsheathing his claws. "I should have realized it was just your voice, Hummel."

Kurt glanced at Sam and wrinkled his nose theatrically. "I thought I smelled Craigslist," he turned an overly-false smile to Sebastian. "Hello, Smythe."

The utter confusion twisting Sam's features effectively cracked both Kurt and Sebastian's acts, and when the pair only shared a grin at the blonde's expense, Sam's brows pulled into a frown. Unsurprisingly, Sebastian did nothing to help clarify the situation for Sam—but, oddly enough, Kurt found he didn't exactly feel motivated to fill his friend in either.

And wasn't that just an interesting tidbit to marinate on later?

Sebastian flashed Sam a smile that was all teeth and cocky bravado as he held out a hand. "Sebastian Smythe—I'm not sure we've officially met."

Now it was Kurt's turn to blink in bemusement as he watched the formal introduction pass between his—friend? Was that the term he and Sebastian were settling on? Nemesis seemed a little too harsh nowadays, and sparring partner didn't exactly do their "relationship" justice either at this point—and self-appointed brother.

Sam took Sebastian's hand in a firm shake, and Kurt didn't need to be Sherlock Holmes to notice the way both boys had clenched their hands a fraction more than necessary, clearly testing the other's grip. "Sam Evans."

"Ah, so _this _is Sam," Sebastian glanced mischievously at Kurt then, his eyebrows raised appraisingly, before turning his leer of a grin back on Sam. "Let's suffice it to say Kurt's mentioned you a time or two."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Why is it that everything that comes out of your mouth sounds like it was scripted from a cheap 80s porno?"

"Hey!" Finn suddenly appeared at Kurt's side, eyes wide with panic. "Dude, you promised you wouldn't tell anyone about-" he mercifully cut himself short at Kurt's raised brow and took a moment to look between the other three boys once again. "… Oh. I thought- never mind."

Sebastian's eyebrows had flown towards his hairline as he glanced Finn over, one corner of his lips tilted firmly up in wry amusement. "I'm guessing that this is Finn," he offered lightly, glancing at Kurt with a mischievous wink.

"Unfortunately," Kurt sighed dramatically and made a vague gesture between Finn and Sebastian. "Finn, this is Sebastian Smythe."

When Finn nodded his head towards Sebastian in greeting, Kurt had to fight the urge to smack the taller teen over the back of his head for Finn's complete lack of manners- or acknowledgement of basic human interactions, at the very least.

"Sup, dude?" Finn greeted, shoving his hands firmly in his pockets as he regarded Sebastian through slightly squinted eyes.

"Not too much, man," Sebastian replied easily. He seemed not to notice the once-over Finn was currently giving him, or if he had noticed Sebastian at least had the grace not to call the other teen on his scrutiny. The tiniest light of amusement dancing in the Warbler's eyes told Kurt that Sebastian likely _had_ noticed, and rather than being annoyed or offended by Finn's utter lack of manners, Sebastian was instead amused by it.

The four of them fell into more or less polite conversation after that as they waited in line to order their coffees. When Kurt had finally ordered his macchiato- plus all of the junk food that Sam and Finn had tacked on to his order at the last moment- Sebastian surprised him by stepping forward and adding his own latte to their tab before paying for the ticket himself.

Kurt admittedly gaped a bit. "I- you didn't have to do that."

He pointedly ignored the smirks he could see playing over Finn and Sam's faces as he reluctantly accepted his drink from Sebastian.

"I know. C'mon, we've got a few tables pushed together over this way," Sebastian said, gesturing in the intended direction with the hand holding his coffee as he handed off Finn and Sam's snacks to the other two teens with the other. Once his hand was free again, he placed it lightly on Kurt's back to help direct him through the packed coffee house and towards the table of awaiting Warblers.

The light touch against his back was almost enough to distract Kurt from his reasons for avoiding the table of boys- but the instant that he spotted Blaine he was able to snap himself from the haze. He took an only slightly-necessary step away from Sebastian to turn and glance at him, flicking his eyes over towards Finn and Sam uneasily.

"Actually-"

"Blaine isn't staying." Sebastian easily spoke over Kurt's protests, replacing the hand on Kurt's back to continue steering him over to the table.

Kurt managed a nod and worked to keep himself from tensing as they neared the table of Warblers- that seemed to have doubled in size somewhere between the time he had walked in the café's door and when he ordered his coffee. There were now maybe ten boys crowding together around a group of three tables that had been hastily pressed together, and Kurt would be lying if he said he didn't feel a slight rush of relief when he realized that most of the boys were paying Blaine little attention, if any at all.

Nick chose that moment to glance up, immediately spotting Kurt and the others nearing their table. "Hey, Kurt!" He lifted a hand in a wave and sat back in his chair, his eyes flicking over Kurt's shoulder as he noticed Sam and Finn trailing behind he and Sebastian. Nick's grin only widened and Kurt's reservations all but melted.

Especially once Jeff spotted them after Nick's greeting and all but surged out of his seat, quickly moving around the table to tug Kurt into a one-armed hug. "Dude, thank god you're here. Nick's threatening not to sing with me because I stole his Trig homework again, and I am _not_ singing solo in front of all these random people." He clapped a hand over Kurt's chest lightly, and Kurt was helpless against Jeff's infectious grin. "You'll talk some sense into him, right?"

Sebastian was still standing just behind Kurt on his other side, and when Kurt shot a glance at him he caught Sebastian rolling his eyes at Jeff's antics. However, the reluctant smile tugging at the brunette's lips effectively ruined his annoyed façade.

"He's not _actually_ a marriage counselor, Jeff," Sebastian drawled.

Jeff blinked. "Wait-what?" He glanced between Kurt and Sebastian in bewilderment. "Why would I need a marriage counsel-oh. You're being an ass again, aren't you Smythe?" Jeff's eyes narrowed playfully and he reached behind Kurt to smack Sebastian over the back of the head, earning an indignant scowl from Sebastian and a delighted laugh from Kurt.

"Alright, Anderson, it's time for you to move," Sebastian declared as they neared before dropping into his former seat next to Blaine.

Blaine blinked and glanced at Sebastian, effectively distracted from his conversation with Thad. "—Pardon?"

Under other circumstances Kurt would have found Blaine's bemusement adorable. However, after the day's glee rehearsal, the raven's confused frown only made Kurt want to punch him in the pretty face.

"I said _leave_," Sebastian clarified, his tone as bored and casual as the way he slumped in his chair. "You're sitting in his seat."

Blaine's frown only deepened in further confusion at Sebastian's use of "his." He twisted in his seat to glance behind him and see who Sebastian was even referring to, and when Blaine's eyes fell on Kurt, Kurt couldn't help but feel something akin to a deer in headlights.

"Sebastian, I can go grab a chair," Kurt said with a roll of his eyes. He was already turning to do just that when a hand on his wrist stopped him.

Sebastian's eyes were unreadable when Kurt met his gaze, and Kurt felt his own eyes widening a bit under the force of the look_._ It didn't even occur to him to try and pull his wrist out of Sebastian's grip until Sam suddenly cleared his voice from right behind him.

"Finn and I will just go grab a couple of chairs."

The wink that he shot Kurt caused Kurt's face to heat, and only then did he realize that Sebastian still had a hold of his wrist. When Kurt hastily tugged free of Sebastian's hold he pretended not to notice the curious look the action earned him from the other boy.

Sebastian, surprisingly, didn't call him on it. Instead he swung an expectant gaze to Blaine, and the look was icy enough that it chilled even Sebastian's—mostly civil—words. "If you wouldn't mind, Blaine."

Even though the words were phrased politely enough, they were nothing short of an order.

Blaine blinked but finally stood, throwing a sweeping glance at the other Warblers gathered at the table. "Uhm—sorry, Kurt. I didn't realize—"

"No, no," Kurt quickly interjected, shaking his head but not quite meeting Blaine's eyes, "It's just a chair, Blaine. Sebastian's being a—"

"_Sebastian_?"

Kurt blinked at how both surprised and incredulous Blaine managed to sound with that simple repetition, and he was taken off-guard by the sudden wave of defensiveness that straightened his spine and stiffened his shoulders. Kurt would have been both deaf and blind not to notice the poorly hidden accusation tinting both Blaine's expression and his tone.

"Oh heavens," he began, voice theatrically light and full of feigned horror as he turned wide eyes to Sebastian. "I haven't been calling you the wrong name for the past week, have I? That would be positively mortifying."

Sebastian smirked in amusement and didn't spare Blaine a glance. "Let's leave it at 'you're improving.'"

The glare that Kurt shot him only caused Sebastian's smirk to widen, and Kurt didn't bother fighting the urge to flick Sebastian's ear out of spite. "You're impossible," he chided before glancing back at Blaine. The smile that Kurt hadn't even realized was playing across his lips tightened. "I do apologize for Sebastian's utter lack of manners," he gestured to the table vaguely, hoping that the motion didn't come off as forced as it felt, "By all means—feel free to join us, Blaine—"

"Actually," Nick piped up, his voice only slightly apologetic from his seat across from Sebastian, "tonight, we're sort of here for Kurt." He exchanged a look with Jeff as the blonde reclaimed the seat beside Nick.

"We'll come catch up with you some more in a bit, Blaine," Trent offered.

Blaine nodded slowly, looking for all the world like he was struggling to process the other Warblers' words. Kurt couldn't decide if he wanted to reassure the raven or to send him packing. Luckily, Sebastian's lack of tact once again saved him from making that decision.

"We'll see you around, Blaine."

As Blaine walked off, shaking his head and mumbling something to himself, Sebastian caught the chair Blaine had been sitting in with his ankle and pulled it away from the table to indicate for Kurt to sit. Kurt did so, but not without giving Sebastian a look. "That was completely unnecessary."

"That depends entirely on who you ask." Sebastian took a sip of his coffee and pulled a face before setting the cup back on the table.

The scrape of chairs behind Kurt caught his attention then and he twisted in his seat to spot Sam and Finn settling into a pair of chairs situated behind Kurt's own. Sam leaned forward in his chair, bracing his elbows on his knees and glancing at the other boys sitting around the pushed-together tables.

"So—what'd we miss?"

"Just Sebastian being his charming, socially-unacceptable self," Kurt replied without missing a beat. He received a heatless glare from Sebastian for his remark and a pair of grins from Sam and Finn.

When Kurt turned back to the other boys at the table and saw that most of them were eying Sam and Finn curiously, Kurt realized that further introductions were in order. He had barely opened his mouth to do just that when Sebastian (for the millionth time that night) took the words right from his mouth.

"Everyone, this is Finn Hudson and Sam Evans." He gestured to Finn and Sam in turn before pointing out each Warbler as he put a name to the other faces at the table. "Sam, Finn-the two gentlemen all but cuddling across from me would be Nick and Jeff," Sebastian politely ignored the glares that the two boys sent his way for his comment, though in Sebastian's defense Jeff's arm _was _draped over the back of Nick's chair, "Then you have Trent, Thad, Benjamin, Andre, and Caleb."

Each Warbler nodded in turn at their introduction, and Kurt was abruptly hit with how surreal the moment suddenly had become. In a way, Kurt's two worlds were colliding, and the realization was as exciting as it was terrifying.

His musings must have shown on his face, because once the table had again dissolved into several different conversations, Sebastian leaned towards Kurt ever so slightly and pitched his voice low when he spoke. "Do you have any idea how awkward your expression is right now?" His words were light, but the glance he shot Kurt from the corner of his eye was genuinely concerned.

Kurt shook his head once and let his lips pull into a slight smile. "This entire evening is just… a little bit bizarre." He was mildly surprised when Sebastian simply nodded in apparent understanding before straightening again in his seat. Without missing a beat, Sebastian joined in on the football discussion that had arisen between Andre, Finn, and Sam.

Nick drew Kurt's attention then, and it wasn't long before Kurt was caught up in conversation with the two boys sitting across from him. The easy banter between Nick and Jeff effectively distracted him from his otherwise awful day, and by the time that Kurt noticed the arm settled across the back of his chair, his macchiato had chilled.

Sebastian was still deep in conversation with several of the other boys- not over football, now, but possibly lacrosse?- and if it wasn't for the way his thumb was ghosting over the swell of Kurt's shoulder, Kurt would think that Sebastian wasn't even aware of where his arm had ended up.

After a moment's hesitation, Kurt allowed himself to relax ever so slightly into the arm behind his back- and if the action earned a shared look between Nick and Jeff, then Kurt pretended not to notice.

xxx

Author's Note #2: Klaine tonight. I can't even. I'd totally abandoned the Klaine ship this season, but tonight certainly reminded me of why I fell in love with the pairing to begin with. Don't worry, no spoilers ahead. But seriously- I'm so glad there was actual development in the pairing. Glee, how dare you make me fall in love with you again when there's only three episodes left?


	6. Track Six

Author's Note: I swear, I am never doing another open mic night again. Still- I _still_ haven't been able to get the entire scene written. There's just so much dang teen drama going on right now! This chapter's going to be a bit shorter because, after two weeks of fighting with it, I'm cutting it short before the big "talk" so that I can hopefully work out a few kinks with the scene. I feel like I'm going to be schizophrenic by the time everything is put out on the table with these kids.

On a lighter note- I abandoned live journal. It bored me. Instead, I've started a tumblr! Once I figured out how to use the dang thing I've decided I like the interface SO MUCH more than LJ's. I've already posted a few extras on my tumblr… including the song that will be featured (eventually) at this goddamned Open Mic Night! So… follow me? Whatever it is people do on tumblr?

xblessthefall[dot]tumblr[dot]com

Also, if there is a slight hiccup in posting again, it's either because I'm avoiding schizophrenia or I'm working on getting an update of SOWK out.

Finally, you guys are so freaking amazing. I can't believe how much of a response this story has already gotten- 70 reviews in 5 chapters? For real? And I can't even tell you how many Alerts and Favorites I'm getting each day… though I guess I could, because I keep every notification on my phone to cuddle with and use to motivate me when I don't feel like writing anything. Also? I happened to be checking out my favorite Kurtbastian fic recommendation website last Friday and all but had a seizure when I found Coffeeshop had made it's way onto the rec list. I have no idea who recommended the story- but thank you _so much_ you crazy, lovely, beautiful person you.

Oh god. I need to shut up.

**Coffeeshop Soundtrack**

Track Six

Kurt was once again bickering harmlessly with Sebastian when the amplified sound of someone tapping a microphone caught his attention. He turned his head towards the tiny stage situated at the front of the coffeeshop and spotted a woman standing before a mic stand, grinning to herself as she waited for the din of conversation to fade out.

He felt Sebastian shift slightly beside him as the other boy turned his attention towards the woman as well. Their table fell silent as the rest of the boys at the table twisted to face the stage.

"Hey, you guys! How's it going?" the woman at the mic asked cheerfully, lifting a hand to shield her eyes as the house lights dimmed everywhere except for above the stage. "I can't believe the insane turnout we've gotten tonight- I have a feeling we're in store for a pretty epic show. How many of you guys are here to sing?"

Kurt gave a delicate snort in amusement as Jeff's hand shot immediately into the air. When the blonde realized that Nick hadn't raised his own hand he simply reached out, took Nick's wrist in his free hand, and lifted the brunette's hand for him with a longsuffering sigh. Nick's answering glare earned a laugh from the rest of the boys surrounding the table.

"The truly tragic part is that Nick doesn't even _realize _how whipped he is," Sebastian murmured in a conspiring whisper, shifting forward just enough so that his mouth was next to Kurt's ear.

Kurt barely managed to suppress a shiver as the other boy's breath ghosted over his ear.

He shot a glance at Sebastian- which in retrospect was likely _not_ his wisest move, seeing as it brought their faces impossibly close together- and allowed a tiny smile. "I think it's cute."

Sebastian's eyes crinkled in amusement, his own smirk unwavering as he openly let his gaze flick towards Kurt's lips. The motion caused a flush to race to Kurt's cheeks. "You would," Sebastian countered easily.

Finn leaned forward then and effectively shattered the moment. "Rachel keeps looking over here and glaring at me, but she's texting me wanting me to sing with her." He blinked as he glanced between Kurt and Sebastian in bewilderment. "I can't figure out if she's pissed at me or not."

Sebastian smirked easily as he leaned back in his seat again, his arm curling a bit tighter around Kurt's shoulders as he twisted to easier see Finn. "Women are infamous for their ability to send mixed signals, Finn. Haven't you figured that one out yet?"

Sam snorted from his place beside Finn. "Not to mention that it's _Rachel_."

Finn blinked again. "Dude- that's my girlfriend you're talking about." He sat up a bit straighter and turned a narrowed glare towards Sam, clearly actually taking offense on his girlfriends' behalf.

Kurt decided that this was his cue to step in.

"Finn, if Rachel wants to perform with you she's not actually mad at you. She's probably just glaring because you're over _here_ instead of sitting with her and the rest of the glee club." Kurt chanced a glance at the table that the majority of New Directions was crowded around and immediately regretted it. His own eyes narrowed in annoyance as he finally took notice of the glares and looks being thrown his way. He sat back primly, his spine stiffening and arms folding over his chest defensively before he managed to tear his gaze away from the _clearly_ disapproving stares of his classmates.

"You think so?" Finn chanced a wave at Rachel with a nervous grin. He clearly was missing all of the looks being tossed Kurt's way- and Kurt couldn't decide whether or not he should be thankful for that fact.

He forced himself to glance back at the glee club's table to see Rachel's reaction to Finn's wave and was relieved when he caught her returning the gesture. However, the instant that she caught Kurt looking in her direction her smile fell and she dropped her hands back into her lap before pointedly turning her attention back to Blaine.

The rest of the glee table—Tina, Mike, Artie, Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany—all shot Kurt a dirty look a moment later, apparently in response to whatever Rachel had just whispered, and Kurt had finally had enough.

His jaw set and he abruptly rose to his feet to stride across the café. As soon as he was near enough he slammed his palms on the glee kids' table, effectively startling each of the other teens and drawing their attention. He was sure his expression was thunderous.

"Is there a particular reason why you're all spending your evening throwing scathing glances my way? Because if there is, I would really appreciate being enlightened on the matter." He made sure to glare at Rachel in particular as he spoke, though he was sure to glance disdainfully at the others gathered around the table as well. "_Why_ are you all acting like this? This is ridiculous!"

Rachel made a point of avoiding his gaze. "We don't know what you're talking about," she deflected primly, picking at the muffin she had bought rather than looking at Kurt. "We're here for the show- same as you and your friendsare_." _

Kurt's jaw tightened. "Was there an accusation in there somewhere?"

"Sure sounded like it," Jeff piped up, stepping up next to Kurt and slinging an arm around his shoulders. He grinned at the teens seated at the table easily. "Hey guys!"

Kurt blinked and glanced at Jeff incredulously.

"Look- I know there's been a lot of drama going down because of Kurt and Blaine's breakup or whatever- which, by the way, I think is total _bogus_- but look, we're all here to have a good time tonight. And you guys shooting dirty looks at my buddy here every few minutes is _seriously_ putting a damper on his night." Jeff clapped a hand against Kurt's chest and spared him a grin. "And since we sort of skipped glee practice and drove two hours to hang out with him tonight, I'd really appreciate it if you all could lay off for a bit. Or y'know, for good."

By that point Kurt was sort of gaping at Jeff.

"Alright, _for real_ people. Enough is enough," Mercedes suddenly spoke, setting her coffee cup on the table loudly and fixing the others with a look. "Prep school's right. This is _ridiculous_. Kurt's been my boy since sophomore year. I'm not even sure _why _we're supposed to be giving him the cold shoulder right now, but I'm sure whatever the reason is? It's whack."

"The _reason_, Mother Theresa, is pretty damn obvious," Santana drawled, nodding over towards the Warbler table where the other boys were all watching them warily. Her gaze abruptly snapped back to Kurt as she sat back in her chair and folded her arms haughtily. "Your _boy_ there _cheated_."

Kurt's incredulous response was all but drowned out by Mercedes' and Blaine's own.

Rachel ignored their combined protests. "Well, _didn't _you?" she demanded, apparently abandoning all pretenses of indifference.

Kurt folded his arms and scowled at her. "I _cannot_ believe you just asked me that, Rachel."

"Kurt didn't _cheat_ on me," Blaine countered quickly, pushing to his feet with wide eyes.

Jeff dropped his arm from around Kurt's shoulders and took a step closer to the table, glaring at Santana. "No. He didn't, did he Blaine?" He spared a scathing glance at Blaine then, surprising just about everyone gathered at the table.

"Kurt is no _cheater_, Santana," Mercedes said, "you'd better just back on up off your crazy train and-"

"If Hummel didn't cheat on Blaine, then you wanna explain to me why he's spent the night curled up against that skeezeball Warbler over there?" Santana challenged, pushing up to her feet and glancing between Mercedes and Jeff witheringly. She ignored Brittany's weak attempt to tug her back into her seat.

"Would you like to explain how that's any of your business?" Jeff countered icily.

Nick was suddenly at Jeff's side then, pulling the blonde away from Santana with a firm hand curling around Jeff's bicep.

"This is _insane_," Blaine declared, looking between them all in bewilderment. He turned to Nick and Jeff abruptly. "Please take Kurt and go sit back down, you guys. I'll-"

Kurt's temper flared. "I'm _right here_, Blaine, and I'm not some _dog _that you can-"

"I _know_ that, Kurt!" Blaine snapped, glancing sharply at him now. His gaze softened. "You shouldn't have to be dealing with any of this. Just… let me talk to everyone, alright? I'll clear this all up. I'll-"

"I'm sure that will help _everything_," Sebastian drawled as he came up behind Kurt. He placed a hand lightly on Kurt's back and glanced at the others disinterestedly. "There a problem, babe?"

Kurt's cheeks flushed at the endearment.

"Ah, look," Santana sneered, placing her hands on her hips and smirking tightly. "Speak of the cheating scumbag and he shall appear."

"I'm sorry," Sebastian lifted a single eyebrow in lofty amusement, "is that some sort of 'Lima Heights' proverb I should know about?"

Santana took a step closer towards Sebastian, eyes narrowing sharply. Kurt didn't even think before he mirrored the motion and took a half-step between the pair. He fixed the Latina with a cool glare of his own.

"What the hell do _you _know about Lima Heights, rich kid?" Santana demanded with barely a glance at Kurt.

Though Kurt couldn't see Sebastian's face, he could _hear_ the brunette's smirk in his next words. "Other than the fact you've likely never even set foot there?" Sebastian took a step closer to Kurt and dropped his chin on Kurt's shoulder, clearly not intimidated in the least by Santana's scowl. "Isn't your dad a dentist? That doesn't exactly land you in the ghetto, does it?"

Santana's face flushed angrily. "Outside. You, me. _Right_ now."

"Cut it out, Santana," Kurt snapped, meeting the Latina's glare unflinchingly. He stubbornly ignored how close Sebastian's face was to his own in the moment. "What part of any of this are you _deluded_ enough to believe is your business in the first place?"

Sebastian blinked and straightened at that, moving to stand next to Kurt once again and sparing him a glance that Kurt couldn't be bothered to decipher.

Santana took Sebastian's step forward as an apparent challenge, because she shifted until she was nearly toe to toe with the Warbler. However, when she spoke, she turned her glare towards Kurt.

"You wouldn't even have transferred back if it wasn't for me, Hummel, so how bouts you show some appreciation? Cut the drama and get _back_ with your gay." She gave Kurt a tight, dangerous smile that was as venomous as her words. "I don't care 'bout whatever you and Gossip Girl here got up to behind closed doors-"

And that was when Kurt finally snapped.

He wasn't even aware that he had actually made to pounce on Santana until he felt Sebastian grab him around the middle and haul him away from the Latina, but even then Kurt was yelling and swearing and trying to push Sebastian's arm away from his middle. Finn and Sam were suddenly there, stepping between Kurt and Santana and demanding that Sebastian take Kurt outside.

Kurt was having none of it.

"How _dare_ you presume to-"

Sebastian spun him abruptly in his hold, grabbing Kurt's chin to force his gaze to meet Sebastian's.

"Hey," he growled, his voice uncharacteristically deep as he held Kurt steady with an arm around his middle, his other hand still gripping Kurt's chin firmly. Sebastian easily countered each of Kurt's attempts to get free of his hold and only forced Kurt to hold his gaze. "She's not worth it."

Kurt's eyes narrowed and he tried to shove away from the other boy again. "Let me go," he hissed lowly, jerking sharply in Sebastian's hold when the brunette only tightened his arms around Kurt in order to keep him still.

Jeff and Nick appeared then and, with their help, Sebastian managed to wrestle Kurt out of the café.

As soon as Kurt found his footing on the sidewalk outside of the Lima Bean he managed to break free of Sebastian's hold (likely only because Sebastian finally elected to allow him to do so).

He was still ranting- and possibly a little hysterical.

"I don't understand what I _did_ to them!" Kurt exclaimed, beginning to pace on the sidewalk and dragging his hands through his hair shakily. That alone should have hinted at just how upset he was- his hair would soon be an absolute wreck and he couldn't be bothered to care. "Can- can someone _tell me_ _what I did?_"

His voice broke then and Kurt finally stopped his pacing in favor of dropping his face into his hands. He sank into the bench behind him in defeat, and he only lifted his head when he felt two bodies settle in on either side of him on the bench.

Jeff slung an arm around Kurt's shoulders and tipped his head against Kurt's, his eyes on the ground and his brow furrowed thoughtfully. Nick simply placed a careful hand on Kurt's back.

Kurt swiped at his eyes quickly. After a moment, he relaxed into Jeff's side.

Sebastian hunkered down in front of the trio then, placing a hand on Kurt's knee. His expression was decidedly uncomfortable, brow pulled down into a frown and lips pursed pensively, but the concern shining in his eyes was genuine. He ducked his head until he caught Kurt's eye.

"You—"

"You didn't do anything, Kurt," a new voice supplied, abruptly drawing all four boy's attention.

Jeff and Nick tensed on either side of Kurt, and he could even feel Sebastian stiffen through the simple touch against his knee. Kurt reluctantly lifted his head from Jeff's to glance at Mercedes.

He was startled at the softness behind her gaze.


	7. Track Seven

Author's Note: Whoops- my tumblr handle didn't show up the first time I posted it, so I'm going to repost the fixed link for anyone who wanted it.

As always, thank you guys _so much_ for reading, reviewing, reccing- just, seriously. You're all amazing.

xblessthefall[dot]tumblr[dot]com

Have you had a chance to check out the posters dannyseguel made for this fic? They're absolutely stunning! If you're curious you can find them on my tumblr. Really. Go look. They're fucking awesome.

**Coffeeshop Soundtrack**

Track Seven

Mercedes made her way from the café's entrance over towards the bench where the four boys were huddled, and there was no missing the appraising glance she gave the Warblers as she neared. Her eyes rested on Sebastian for an extra beat, and rather than call her on it Sebastian instead held her gaze until Mercedes looked away.

She stopped beside Sebastian and mirrored his position, squatting in front the bench so she was closer to eye level with Kurt. She pointedly ignored her proximity to Sebastian, though she did spare Nick and Jeff another curious look. After a moment, Mercedes reached out and tugged one of Kurt's hands into her own.

"I'm so sorry you've had to put up with all of this, Kurt."

He reluctantly met Mercedes' gaze and managed a half-hearted shrug.

"Hey," Sebastian snapped suddenly, startling both Mercedes and Kurt with the sharpness of his tone. "Don't do that."

Nick, seemingly on the same page as Sebastian, leaned forward then and made sure to catch Kurt's gaze. The hand on Kurt's back shifted to rest at the base of his neck instead. "You haven't done anything wrong, Kurt."

Kurt blinked at the conviction in both boy's tones. Even Jeff gave his shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

He finally nodded carefully, eyes undoubtedly a little widened when he finally tore his gaze away from Nick's to look back at Mercedes. He was surprised to catch her smiling.

Her expression quickly sobered as she squeezed Kurt's hand between both of hers. "Blazer boy's right, Kurt. This is all just a… _ridiculous_… misunderstanding." She shot Sebastian a look. "Do you mind movin'? My boy may be fine with you bein' all up on him, but I sure as hell ain't."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed in clear challenge, but when he moved to actually shove to his feet Kurt quickly disentangled one of his hands from Mercedes' hold and grasped Sebastian's hand with his own. The motion effectively caught the Warbler off guard enough that he hesitated, glancing away from Mercedes and to Kurt with a slight, bewildered frown.

Kurt shook his head at Sebastian and tightened his hold on the other boy's hand. Try as he might, he couldn't actually find any words to explain away his desire for Sebastian to stay close, and so Kurt instead caught Sebastian's gaze and did his best to beg the other boy to stay with his eyes alone. Surprisingly, it seemed to work, because Sebastian's expression softened before he nodded.

The fact that Mercedes was now eying Kurt a little more warily did not slip his notice—or apparently anyone else's.

Jeff finally lifted his head from where it was leaning against Kurt's to return Mercedes' frown with one of his own. "You were saying something about a misunderstanding?" he prompted none-too-subtly.

His tone seemed to actually shake Mercedes from her musings, though the look she shot Jeff for his assistance was hardly one of thanks.

"Alright, here it is," she began on a sigh, shifting her attention pointedly back to Kurt. He fought the urge to squirm under the weight of her gaze. "After you and Blaine broke up Monday, everyone expected you to be moping around and miserable. When that didn't happen people got suspicious. You and Blaine weren't exactly fillin' in the blanks for us, so we had to come up with our own conclusions." She pinched Kurt's hand lightly in reprimand. "Finn didn't exactly do you any favors by telling Rachel you were spending most of your time hanging out with one of the Warblers. You know how that girl is with gossip."

Kurt snorted indelicately.

"Then you blow us off to hang out with the blazers tonight- which don't even get me started on how whack _that_ is—and when we walk in the door we see you all but curled up with CW over here," she spared a disdainful glance at Sebastian, clearly unimpressed with the glare he's sending her way. "Let's just say that things didn't look like they were just rumors anymore."

Kurt's gaze narrowed and he straightened to shoot his friend a haughty glare. "Okay, _first off_—"

"I'm not done," Mercedes snapped, matching his attitude easily. She glared at Kurt until it was obvious that he was going to allow her to continue—for _now_— before she went on. "So that's why everyone was givin' you and your boys the stink eye in there. We all thought you had something going on with prep school here, and that Blaine had found out and that's why y'all broke up."

Mercedes simply spoke over Kurt's (apparently anticipated) rebuttal. "_But_—" She waited until she had his attention. "_But_… after that scene you and your boys just caused in there, I've decided I don't give a damn _what _went down with you and Anderson."

Kurt blinked in bewilderment at that, effectively forgetting every comeback and barb that he had intended to throw at Mercedes. He glanced between Nick, Jeff, and Sebastian only to see that they all looked as taken aback as he felt.

When he looked at Mercedes again, he was surprised to see her smiling gently once again. "I haven't seen _that_ Kurt Hummel since you transferred to Dalton, white boy. That kid who tried to butt heads with Santana back in there? That was _my _Kurt." She glanced at Sebastian then, the look almost fond. "And if this kid's the reason behind it, well hell—I'm not gonna get choosy. This time."

Sebastian was blinking comically, clearly aghast. And possibly a little horrified.

The brunette's expression was almost enough to draw a genuine laugh from Kurt—and probably would have if he hadn't been so damned _confused _at the time.

"So let me get this straight," he began carefully, voice only slightly clipped, "Everyone has convinced themselves that I _cheated on Blaine_ because I'm not going through the hallways with my iPod looped on Adele and Kelly Clarkson's greatest hits?"

From the corner of his eye Kurt caught Jeff and Nick exchanging a grin.

Mercedes punched out a huff of a sigh. "Something like that."

Sebastian arched an eyebrow and glanced at Mercedes witheringly. "That's… a bit ridiculous, wouldn't you say?"

"Look prep school, no one asked for your input on any of this," Mercedes snapped in reply. She shot Kurt a look. "I'm not seeing the appeal here, Kurt."

The incredulous once-over she gave Sebastian to accentuate her point actually drew an honest laugh from Kurt.

"For god's sakes, Mercedes. I'm not even _dating_ him. Leave him be."

Kurt blinked at the incredulous glance he received, not only from Mercedes, but from the two boys sitting on either side of him.

Sebastian not-so-subtly slipped his hand from Kurt's.

"It's no wonder you hide out here all the time, Hummel. Your friends clearly belong in a mental institution." The lazy drawl, the slightly biting cut poorly layered beneath the crass words- all caught Kurt's attention just as much as the distant smirk playing on Sebastian's lips as he straightened and stood.

Mercedes cleared her throat. "Uhm, my bad. I just assumed…" she trailed off when she caught Nick's eye.

"That was your first mistake," Sebastian quipped, tone somehow both bored and biting.

Kurt's eyes narrowed in a bewildered glare. "Sebastian—cut it out."

Sebastian held up his hands in surrender and fell back a step, stuffing his hands deep into his pant pockets. He tilted his head to watch the passing cars rather than pay any more heed to the group huddled around the bench.

Kurt glanced at Nick helplessly. The other boy simply shook his head and pursed his lips.

"Alright, let's focus on one drama at a time here," Mercedes grabbed Kurt's face in either of her hands and forced him to look at her, grinning slightly at his wide-eyed look of surprise at the action. "Are we square, boo?"

"Are you going to continue treating me like a pariah?"

Mercedes fixed Kurt with a look but shook her head.

A reluctant smile tugged at Kurt's lips. "Well—then I suppose we're square."

He tilted his head so that his forehead rested against Mercedes and closed his eyes. For a moment, Kurt simply relished in the knowledge that, despite all of the crazy drama that seemed to have overtaken his life, he had somehow regained his best friend through the mess.

Mercedes pulled away abruptly and stood, offering Kurt a hand up. "Come on, white boy. I'll bet we've managed to miss at least half of the Rachel Berry show by now."

Kurt took her hand and stood, quirking a brow sardonically. "We could never be that lucky, Cedes."

This earned an honest laugh from Mercedes and she hugged Kurt to her side before glancing at the other boys still gathered outside. "You boys comin?"

Nick and Jeff exchanged a glance before pushing to their feet as one.

Kurt felt Sebastian on his other side, then, and glanced up at the other boy curiously in an attempt to judge whether Sebastian was actually upset about something. He frowned when he realized how carefully blanked the other boy's expression was.

As the group made their way back inside the coffeeshop, with Sebastian holding open the door for Mercedes and Kurt as they passed, Kurt hesitated just inside of the doorway. He turned to Mercedes, but before he could even open his mouth she was nodding and waving him off. Kurt watched as she hooked her arms between Nick and Jeff's before ordering the two Warblers to "show a lady to her seat."

Kurt smiled fondly as he watched the trio make their way across the café and towards the table of Dalton boys up front.

That was when Sebastian stepped inside behind Kurt, sparing him a curious look when he realized that Kurt had waited on him.

"Did you need something, princess?"

Kurt spared him an unimpressed glance before turning his eyes back towards the table of Warblers, though he still made no move to join them. He kept his eyes pointedly averted as he spoke. "Did I do something?"

He felt Sebastian tense next to him and absently began to chew his lower lip.

Sebastian punched out a breath. Kurt instantly hated how resigned the sound was. "No, Kurt. I'm just—being a jackass. You know, the usual."

Kurt did glance at Sebastian then. "You haven't been a jackass for a while now. Insufferable, maybe, but not a genuine jackass." He softened the words with a tiny smile. He even went so far as to bump his shoulder with Sebastian's. "You've dealt with my shit for a week now, Sebastian. If there's something bothering—"

"Can we just go sit down and watch the show?"

The sudden interruption caught Kurt off-guard. He glanced up at Sebastian sharply, noting the tightness in the other boy's jaw and the stiff set to his shoulders, and couldn't think of a damn thing to say to convince Sebastian to talk to him.

Kurt sighed. "Alright, c'mon."

Without thinking he reached back and grabbed Sebastian's hand in his own before leading the way towards their table, weaving carefully through the mill of high school students as they made their way across the café. By the time that they made it to their table, Kurt and Sebastian's fingers were slotted together as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

When they settled into their old seats the table fell silent, most of the boys turning to scrutinize Kurt with varying levels of concern.

Sam leaned forward and nudged Kurt's shoulder. "Hey—you okay?"

Kurt tilted his head to see Sam out of the corner of his eye. He spotted Mercedes sitting between Sam and Finn and met her gaze with a tiny smile. "I'm better," he allowed, sure to keep his voice light. He went so far as to wink playfully at Mercedes.

Sam squeezed his shoulder and sat back in his chair, mumbling something to Finn and Mercedes that Kurt couldn't be bothered to make out.

At that moment, Sebastian seemed to suddenly realize that he was still holding Kurt's hand and quickly took his own hand back, not even bothering to try and make the movement seem casual. After a beat, apparently realizing how sudden and obvious the motion had been, Sebastian pointedly reached for his now lukewarm latte.

Years of practice schooling his expression saved Kurt from letting his hurt show. He did his best to play the moment off as if he hadn't even noticed Sebastian's hasty disentanglement and instead turned his attention to the stage- where, unsurprisingly, Rachel was currently belting out a jazzed-up rendition of a Celine Dion song.

He was effectively distracted.

Kurt didn't realize that he had groaned aloud until the rest of the table began to laugh, startling him. His face flushed even as he huffed out a retort of, "What? You think you've got it bad, but this is my life in glee club," which only caused the boys around him to snicker anew.

"Don't worry, Hummel," Andre grinned, glancing over his shoulder from where he sat facing the stage and catching Kurt's eye, "Now that you're all back, we're staging a takeover."

Jeff bumped Nick's shoulder, and the two shared a look that Kurt wasn't entirely sure that he liked.

Shortly thereafter, Rachel's song ended and Nick and Jeff were suddenly on their feet and grabbing two guitars from beneath the table- and really, _where_ did those come from? Ben stood as well and picked up a wooden box he'd apparently been using as a seat, and as one the trio made quick work of taking over the stage.

Kurt was temporarily distracted from watching the Dalton boys set up over by the stage in favor of watching Rachel make her way back towards the New Directions' table. It didn't take someone well-versed in Rachel Berry's many moods to see that the girl was clearly quite irritated at having her set cut short. The knowledge made Kurt fight back a smirk.

As annoyed at the other girl as he was at the moment, Kurt refused to actually resort to petty glares and glances.

Even if it seemed that the rest of New Directions still didn't quite share the same mindset.

After several moments passed where the boys situated and tuned their instruments, Jeff stepped closer to the mic in front of him and gripped it lightly before glancing mischievously over at the table of Warblers- or, more specifically, right at Kurt.

"I think we're gonna need a hand with this one, Nick. What do you think?" Jeff turned to Nick with a grin and absently strummed his guitar once.

Nick returned the grin in kind. "You know what? You're absolutely right. But… who-"

"Oh, I know a guy." Jeff interrupted smoothly. He shot Kurt a wink. "Kurt? You mind helping us out?"

Kurt's eyes widened in horror. He quickly shook his head.

Jeff and Nick laughed, and even Ben was grinning from his perch on his drum box.

"Dude, you should know that I'm fully prepared to drag you up here by force. Don't make it come to that, Kurt. Be smart."

The fact that Jeff was speaking to him as if making some sort of hostage negotiation didn't pass Kurt's notice. It certainly didn't make Kurt want to be any more cooperative, either.

He arched an eyebrow sardonically and folded his arms, shaking his head slowly.

And then Kurt felt his chair being tugged back and let out a surprised, indignant squawk as he tried to keep his balance. Finn and Sam grabbed either of his arms and hefted him to his feet before pushing him unceremoniously towards the stage.

"Since when are you even shy, dude?" Finn laughed. He completely ignored the glare that Kurt spared him before he reluctantly began to pick his way over towards the stage.

Once he was close enough, Kurt turned his glare to the three boys situated around the tiny stage. Judging by the trio's unwavering grins, Kurt's glare simply was no longer up to par for the day.

"What are you doing?" Kurt demanded lowly, even as he reluctantly stepped over to the microphone stand situated between Jeff and Nick. He spared a quick glance over the crowd and instinctively lifted his chin when he noticed several of the members of New Directions were still actively giving him the stink-eye.

Jeff's lips quirked in amusement. "What we do best. Now c'mon- you'll know this one."

Kurt felt panic flare up in his chest as Ben took that as his cue to start up a beat. Nick and Jeff joined in seconds later, and soon the music was swelling through the cramped café.

Kurt swallowed against the nerves that were working to clog his throat- seriously, what were these guys _doing_, and _what_ was this _song?_- but then Jeff was speaking, and the instant the words left the blonde's mouth, realization struck.

"This song's called Rumor Mill."

Kurt felt his lips tilting into a tiny grin as he let his eyes slip closed, giving himself a moment to find the rhythm, and when he opened his eyes he caught Nick shooting him a knowing grin.

This time, Kurt responded with a tiny smile of his own before he began to sing.

_Here we go again_

_It's like you're calling all the shots_

_before I shoot them _

_and I hate that _

He spared a coy glance at Jeff as he sang, quickly recognizing the significance of the song choice. The blonde only winked playfully in return as he continued to strum his guitar, nodding his head in time with the beat.

Kurt turned his eyes back to the audience and gave himself over to the rush of the performance.

_Every time I turn my back _

_I wonder what you'll say_

_To make me sound like someone different_

_It's not worth it anymore!_

When Jeff joined in at the end of the second stanza, Kurt's eyes snapped towards the other boy in surprise.

He'd never heard Jeff sing like _that_.

Luckily, Nick and Benjamin joining in for the pre-chorus covered Kurt's surprise. He quickly recovered and let his own voice grow a little bolder, a little louder. The other three's enthusiasm was infectious.

_We've been picking up the pieces _

_leaving all the dust behind_

_Sick of all the pressure_

_you're just wasting time_

_And I don't ever wanna know what it feels like_

_to be a shadow of myself_

_and I don't ever wanna come back down from this feeling _

Kurt stepped closer towards the café tables and his gaze sharpened when he found New Directions' table again amidst the crowd. He sang the next lines directly to Santana, holding her gaze unflinchingly. He never came closer than a handful of steps towards the gleek's table, but there wasn't a soul in the room who couldn't see where Kurt's attention had been directed.

When Santana finally broke the gaze in order to roll her eyes in annoyance, Kurt remembered to shoot the others at the table- particularly Rachel and _of course_ Blaine- a pointed glance before moving back towards the stage.

_What makes you think that you know what's better for me? _

_and I don't think you wanna see what's underneath _

_your made up version of me._

Kurt fell back even with Nick and Jeff, biting his lip as he nodded his head in time to the music absently, simply watching Nick's fingers fly across the neck of his guitar. When Nick glanced up and caught Kurt watching him he grinned and stepped closer to his mic before taking over the next verse.

Kurt's gaze flicked back to the crowd and over towards the table of Warblers and found Sebastian watching him with a tiny, almost satisfied smirk.

_There you go again believing_

_that the truth is what you're reading_

_talk some shit I haven't heard before_

Nick nodded at Kurt then, effectively drawing his attention away from Sebastian in time for Kurt to echo Nick on the next lines.

_If you've got something to say_

_(Don't wanna talk about it)_

_If you need someone to blame_

_(Go on and cry about it)_

The pair shared a glance as they neared the chorus, and as if it had been planned ahead of time, Jeff took that as his cue to take over the final part of the verse.

_I measure life in minutes,_

_but these critics think they've got me figured out_

As one, the four boys launched into the chorus again, Kurt's voice carrying strongest as the other three harmonized just beneath him.

The table of Warblers were on their feet by then.

Andre and Caleb were actually catcalling as the song reached its bridge. Sam, Finn, and Mercedes were all on their feet as well, clapping and grinning and cheering on the group. Even Sebastian reluctantly rose to his feet- though, judging by the grin Kurt could see the other boy fighting back, Sebastian's grudging support wasn't quite as forced as he was hoping to make it seem.

Kurt was so caught up in the high of the performance that he didn't think twice before winking coyly at Sebastian.

Then, Sebastian finally full out _smiled_ and begrudgingly lifted his hands to join the other Dalton boys in clapping along with the beat, and Kurt felt as if he were _flying_. He clutched his mic stand tightly in one hand and lifted his microphone to his lips with the other.

_I've lost the strength to keep my grip on the reality that _

_every thought from day to day is fading from our memory _

_but I will never let this grow out of my control _

_and watch your step so you don't fall into _

_this hole you've dug alone-_

_This hole you've dug alone._

He held the final note until his voice broke.

Jeff, Nick, and Ben all fell silent on their instruments and let the note hang in the air and the applause that began to build caused Kurt's head to spin. He knew the smile splitting his face in two had to look absolutely ridiculous, but for once Kurt didn't _care_.

He glanced between Nick and Jeff to find them both sporting grins as big as his own.

Kurt finally swung his gaze back to the audience, and whether Jeff or Nick saw him taking the breath to launch into the chorus or not they were right there with him, backing him up flawlessly as they wound the song down to a close.

The final chord faded out and the café once again broke into applause- frankly, much more rambunctious of a reaction than was likely appropriate for a coffeeshop performance, but Kurt Hummel was _not _one to be finicky over his applause- and only then did Kurt finally give into the urge to bounce excitedly on his feet.

He barely waited until Jeff had set aside his guitar before throwing his arms around the blonde in a hug. Before the moment even had a chance to get weird, Nick and Ben were suddenly crowding around them and throwing their arms around their shoulders and the four of them ended up in an impromptu group hug that was all laughter and tangles of limbs.

Kurt still had the presence of mind to scowl when someone reached out to ruffle his hair though, and stumbled out of the embrace to put a hand to his hair protectively. Mind you, he was still grinning like an idiot, so he wasn't particularly intimidating and so the motion was rather pointless.

A hand tapped lightly on Kurt's shoulder then and he turned quickly- too quickly, he should really try and chill out a little bit- only to find himself face to face with Blaine.

He blinked.

The way that Blaine was looking at him was so painfully familiar that it wiped the grin clear off of Kurt's face.

Blaine reached out and took one of Kurt's wrists in his hand. "Kurt, that was- Jesus. That was _amazing_," Blaine breathed, using the hold on Kurt's wrist to pull him a step closer. Blaine's gaze was searching Kurt's face almost dazedly.

"Oh. Thank you," Kurt replied faintly.

Blaine took another step closer so that his chest was nearly flush with Kurt's. The movement wasn't meant to intimidate or unnerve- if anything, Kurt wasn't even sure Blaine realized that he had crowded into Kurt's space at all.

Blaine slipped his hand from Kurt's wrist down to tangle with Kurt's own.

"Can we… go talk? Somewhere?"

Kurt stiffened at the request and quickly glanced at the table of Warblers, desperately seeking- well, anyone who could get him out of his current situation, honestly. However, the table was still in quite the uproar from the performance and Finn was nowhere to be seen, and Sam and Mercedes were talking between themselves excitedly about _something._

And Sebastian was palming his keys as he turned to make his way towards the door without a backwards glance.

Without thinking, Kurt brushed past Blaine and hurried after Sebastian.

Kurt caught up with Sebastian just before the brunette reached the entrance.

"Sebastian, wait," he called, all but yelling to be heard over the din of conversation that had consumed the café in the dead time between performances. Kurt was pushing through people heedlessly as he hurried to close the few remaining feet between himself and Sebastian.

Sebastian turned at the sound of his name and blinked in surprise when he spotted Kurt pushing through the mill of people to reach him. His brow furrowed into the slightest of frowns as he moved to meet Kurt halfway.

As soon as Sebastian was within arm's reach Kurt reached for him, framing Sebastian's face with his hands as he stretched up and pressed their lips firmly together.

Sebastian inhaled sharply through his nose in surprise, stilling against Kurt for one, terrifying breath before his arms were suddenly winding around Kurt tight and sure, drawing their bodies closer as he tentatively returned the kiss.

Kurt melted against Sebastian. He almost forgot to breathe when he felt Sebastian's lips begin to move against his, careful but sure, and any reservations Kurt may have had were forgotten. He kissed Sebastian with every ounce of passion and abandon he could muster, and when Sebastian's arms tightened possessively around Kurt's waist, Kurt could only wind his arms around the other boy's neck in response, never once daring to break the kiss.

They only broke apart when the catcalls from nearby became too much, and even then they kept their foreheads tilted together. Kurt's chest was heaving- from the exhilaration of the performance, from Sebastian kissing his breath away- and if he had thought he'd been grinning like an idiot before, it was _nothing_ compared to the way he was smiling now.

In his defense, Sebastian's smile was just as wide, his cheeks just as flushed, and there was a light in his eyes now that Kurt had never seen before. It transformed Sebastian's features completely, and the only thought Kurt was capable of at the moment was to wonder at how _beautiful_ Sebastian Smythe really was.

He let out a shaky breath and bit his lip before taking a step closer to Sebastian and promptly hiding his face in the other boy's shoulder. The action earned a surprised laugh from Sebastian, but the brunette only tightened his hold around Kurt once again and pressed a kiss to his temple.

"I have no idea what I'm doing," Kurt managed to mumble, his confession undoubtedly further muffled by the fabric of Sebastian's shirt.

Miraculously, Sebastian still somehow managed to hear him. He tilted his cheek against Kurt's hair and Kurt could _feel_ the grin that was curving Sebastian's cheek.

"Then I guess we lucked out," Sebastian replied quietly, "because improvising is kind of my specialty."

Kurt's delighted laugh was drowned out in the opening chords of another song, but neither boy hardly spared the music a second thought- though they did both shoot the table of Warblers playful glares when they continued to jeer and catcall over towards them.

When Sam went so far as to yell "Get it, Kurt!", Kurt took that as his cue to try and hide in Sebastian's shoulder again.

Sebastian just laughed gently and hugged Kurt back to him.

As the group's attention gradually shifted back to the performance on stage- apparently Jeff and the others had decided to launch into another number- Kurt finally wound his arms around Sebastian's middle and gave the other boy an uncertain squeeze. He gathered the courage to lean back enough to catch Sebastian's eye.

"I'm sorry I was an idiot earlier," he breathed, chewing his lip as he tried to gauge Sebastian's reaction to the words. "I didn't mean it the way it sounded."

Sebastian's lips quirked into a tiny half-smile. "I know," he allowed, the confidence in his voice taking Kurt by surprise. Sebastian tilted his head as he regarded Kurt thoughtfully. "Besides, you were only stating the facts." He tipped his forehead against Kurt's. "I just… realized that I wasn't exactly fond of them."

Kurt only grinned and kissed him again.

_Well, there's no way_

_Out of this so let's stay in_

_Every storm that comes_

_Also comes to an end_

_Oh, resistance is useless_

_Just two kids, stupid and fearless_

_Like a bullet shooting the lovesick*_

_There's only one way down this road_

xxx

Author's Note #2: Sorry if this is a little rough in places. First time writing "song" scenes in a long time, and furthermore- I'm rushing out the door as we speak to head out on vacation. Hopefully it's at least readable!

You can check the songs included in this chapter out on my tumblr, but I've also included the song names and artists if you just want to check them out yourself on youtube. Obvioulsy I don't own these songs and all of that jazz- you know the drill.

Rumor Mill by We Are the In Crowd

Time Bomb by All Time Low

*There's a huge discrepancy in the lyrics here, so I went with the version that made the most sense. Don't shoot me.


	8. Bonus Track 1

Author's Note: Here's the first of the CS drabbles!

Basically, here's the deal. As I'm sure you've all realized, this story follows Kurt's perspective of events, and as such there are inevitably things that happen behind the scenes. I didn't actually intend to write everything from Kurt's POV but it somehow happened, and rather than suddenly throwing in a few new POVs eight chapters into the story I decided that I'd just write any extra scenes I wanted to include and make them their own drabbles.

Now mind you, most of them will probably come randomly and out of order so this will probably be one of the only, if not _the_ only, bonus shot that I'm including in the story itself. I'll probably just keep the rest posted to tumblr so as not to disrupt the flow of the actual chapters after this. If you want to keep up with them be sure and follow me! I love tumblr friends! :D

xblessthefall dot tumblr dot com

Anyways, enjoy!

**Coffeeshop Soundtrack**

When Sebastian's mom wakes him before the asscrack of noon to tell him he has company on a Saturday, Sebastian should have known to just stay in bed.

Bonus Track #1

Bonus Track #1

"Baby, you've got company."

Sebastian stirred with a growl, grabbing the pillow he was laying on and abruptly pulling it over his head. He didn't bother to acknowledge his mother's words since he had every intention of ignoring his apparent company in favor of going back to sleep.

He groaned when a weight settled on top of him.

"Mama," he whined lowly, his words muffled by the pillow over his head. He tried to shake her off of his back unsuccessfully- which only resulted in him whining again.

Danielle Vega laughed lightly as she rolled off of her son's back to lay next to him on the bed. After a moment she reached out and snatched the pillow off of Sebastian's head, snuggling into it unceremoniously and curling on her side.

Sebastian blinked owlishly at her, somehow managing to still glare as his eyes gradually focused on the woman curled around the pillow beside him.

Danielle didn't so much as acknowledge the glare. In fact, her own eyes were shut and she seemed pretty intent on going to sleep where she was laying.

"Go see what he wants, Sebastian," Danielle instructed around another sigh. She didn't bother to open her eyes. "It's rude to make people wait on the porch."

That caught Sebastian's attention. He sat up and scrubbed a hand over his face, pausing to scratch against the stubble dusting his jaw line before he finally shoved himself out of bed and to his feet. He glanced over his shoulder and cast his mother a final glance, fighting a grin when he noticed that she had apparently already dozed off from her spot on his bed, and with a fond roll of his eyes he made his way towards the living room.

Sebastian wasn't particularly surprised to find Blaine Anderson waiting on his front doorstep when he pulled open the door.

He was, however, a little taken aback by the swift blow to the jaw that served as Blaine's greeting.

Sebastian stumbled back a step, more from the shock of the blow than from the force, and lifted a hand to rub at his jaw gingerly. "What the hell was that?" he growled, scowling at Blaine as he stepped fully out onto the porch. He pulled the front door shut behind him absently.

Blaine was doing a fairly impressive job of glaring himself.

"What did you say to him?" Blaine growled lowly, not even bothering to back up a step when Sebastian moved out onto the front porch. "What did you _do_?"

Sebastian blinked blearily at Blaine before scrubbing a hand over his face. "What are you even talking about?" His voice came out as tired and resigned as Sebastian felt. He wanted nothing more than to go inside and crawl back into his bed- hopefully after he managed to talk his mom out of his bed and into her own.

Oh yeah. Blaine was talking again.

"-was completely fine, but now he can't even look at me and I can't shake this nagging feeling that somehow that's probably your doing and-"

Sebastian lifted a hand to silence Blaine. "Wait. Are you talking about Kurt?"

For some reason or another, this just seemed to piss Blaine off further. "Am I- of course I'm talking about Kurt! Have you even been _listening_, Sebastian?"

And now Sebastian was directing his best scowl at the other boy. "Do you want an honest answer, Anderson?"

Blaine poked a finger into Sebastian's chest. "As a matter of fact, I do," he retorted, words clipped, "Now tell me what the hell you said to Kurt to make him hate me."

Sebastian lifted an eyebrow. "Wait. You think I had something to do with Hummel realizing that you're a tool?" When Blaine's scowl intensified and the other boy began to pace irritably, Sebastian allowed a lazy smirk. "Give yourself some credit, Blaine. I'm sure you played your own part in that just fine."

"This isn't a joke, Sebastian!" Blaine snarled.

Sebastian's eyes narrowed slightly. "You're right- I guess it isn't."

Something in Sebastian's tone seemed to catch Blaine's attention then, because Blaine abruptly ceased his pacing and whirled on him.

"What the fuck are you even doing with Kurt, Sebastian?"

It wasn't a question. It was nothing short of an accusation.

Sebastian smirked even as his jaw tightened. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

Blaine was unimpressed. "Kurt is my business."

"Not anymore."

"What the fuck is your problem?" Blaine challenged. He paced over towards Sebastian and glared up at him. "You haven't given a shit about Kurt until I-"

"Until you dumped him?" Sebastian countered smoothly. "Thanks for that, by the way."

Blaine scoffed. "You're deplorable."

"Oh, we're using big words now. This must be serious."

"I'm warning you, Sebastian." Apparently Blaine was finished beating around the bush. "Leave Kurt alone. You could have anyone-"

"I'll bet it hurt to admit that."

"-but you can't have Kurt."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed as his smirk slipped. Even knowing that this was undoubtedly where Blaine was directing the conversation, the instant that the words were so blatantly on the table he felt his hackles rise. He took a step closer to Blaine and glared down at the other teen.

"What makes you- for one second- think that you have any say in what Hummel does? Or _who_ he does?" The last part was tacked on for the sole purpose of getting a rise out of Blaine. It worked flawlessly. "You forfeit that right the instant you dumped him, Anderson. So man up and deal with it."

Blaine shoved Sebastian away from him angrily. "Shut up! Don't you dare talk about him like-"

Sebastian's expression cooled. "Like he's a big boy that's perfectly capable of making his own decisions?" He glanced Blaine over haughtily, working his jaw. "Which is really pissing you off more, Blaine? The fact that Kurt doesn't want you… or the fact that he might want me?"

This time when Blaine went to throw another punch Sebastian saw it coming and easily caught the smaller boy's fist.

"Go home, Blaine," he ordered through clenched teeth. Sebastian used the fist caught in his hand to shove Blaine away from him and glowered at the smaller teen until Blaine took a grudging step back.

Blaine held his ground then, scowling at Sebastian as he seemed to mull something over in his head.

Sebastian was hardly interested in waiting. He turned to make his way inside, and his hand had only just curled around the door handle when Blaine spoke again. This time, the other boy's voice was quiet, defeated.

"He wasn't- Kurt isn't-" Blaine punched out a sigh, and when Sebastian reluctantly glanced back at the raven he saw Blaine scrubbing a hand through his uncharacteristically messy curls. When Blaine's eyes suddenly snapped up to meet Sebastian's, Sebastian very nearly flinched at the intensity behind the gaze. "I love him, Smythe."

And then, as if Sebastian somehow hadn't understood his words, Blaine had to go and repeat them, his voice carrying enough to draw the attention of several of the neighbors.

"I love him and I'm not- I'm not going to just sit back let you fuck that up!"

Sebastian's lips twitched in a humorless grin. "Oh Blaine," he snorted, shaking his head as he pushed his front door open, "You fucked that up the second you dumped him."

With that, he unceremoniously slammed the door in Blaine's face.

**Edited 5/22/12 **at **2:28am**

That awkward moment when you accidentally post a draft instead of the finished version.


	9. Track Eight

Author's Note: First off, I'm posting this chapter at 4:56 in the morning, so if there's a random excerpt from Dora the Explorer or something in the middle of this, don't be too surprised. The fact that I've never even seen Dora would only make the feat that much more impressive.

Also, if you have an idea of a scene that you'd like to see included in the Bonus Tracks I'm writing to accompany CS, drop me a line! You can either submit a request on here via reviewing or by using my ask box on tumblr.

And... I think that's it. I don't know, I should be sleeping. Enjoy!

**Coffeeshop Soundtrack**

Track Eight

Kurt awoke the next morning to two boys climbing unceremoniously into his bed and settling on either side of him. He groaned and tried to tug his covers over his head, but of course Sam and Finn were _laying on them_ and so Kurt couldn't get the sheets to so much as budge. Sensing a battle lost even through the haze of half-sleep, he rolled onto his stomach and tried to hide in the comforting folds of his pillow.

It was impossible to so much as feign sleep when two boys were staring at you expectantly, it seemed.

He groaned and rolled onto his back again.

When he finally looked between the two boys, the grins that Kurt found them sporting were unsettling at best. His expression grew wary as he continued to look between them in confusion.

"… God, you didn't set the drapes on fire again, did you? Because I told you last time-"

Finn batted away Kurt's rambling impatiently. "The drapes are fine, dude. Or at least I think they are. Wait," he looked at Sam with a frown. "… Did we turn off the burner?"

Sam tilted his head in thought. "I- oh shit. I'll be right back."

And with that Sam scrambled off the bed and bolted up the stairs to the kitchen.

Kurt swung a disbelieving glare to Finn but the other boy just grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck and, like always, Kurt found it pretty damn impossible to stay mad at Finn when he looked like a kicked puppy.

Sam came tromping back down the stairs then and fell into his former spot on Kurt's right, and after only a little bit of situating propped his cheek in his hand and grinned at Kurt expectantly.

"So what exactly's the deal with you and that Dalton dude?" Finn ventured, apparently taking Sam's return as his cue to begin the inquisition. He shifted so he was laying flat on his back on the other side of Kurt. "Are you like- dating?"

Kurt's jaw dropped. He quickly glanced at Sam on his other side to find the blonde's grin had only grown impishly. When Kurt only gaped at him, Sam even went so far as to waggle his eyebrows suggestively.

Kurt dropped his head back against his pillow with an exasperated sigh.

"No, he's not my boyfriend," he said at last. The admission might have come out a little more begrudging than he had intended, but Kurt doubted that the other two boys would pick up on that.

Clearly, he'd been underestimating them.

"But you want him to be," Sam supplied.

Kurt could only sigh and drop his hand back to his side. "I don't know," he mused thoughtfully, "Maybe." Then he glanced between Finn and Sam incredulously. "Alright—what gives? Since when exactly have you two given a shit about my love life?"

Sam flinched. "Ouch."

Finn chewed his lip and frowned thoughtfully. "I guess since you started actually having one," he answered baldly, blinking in surprise at the incredulous looks he suddenly received from both Kurt and Sam. "What? I mean it's the truth—it wasn't a big deal until you actually got a boyfriend. Then Blaine came along and suddenly all these dudes are looking at you, and I guess the big brother instincts finally kicked in?"

Kurt stared at him.

"I'm not even sure where that explanation _began_ to go wrong, Finn Hudson."

Sam punched out a sigh then, drawing Kurt's attention. The blonde shifted so he was lying on his stomach and tilted his head so he could watch Kurt.

"I think what Finn's trying to say is that, y'know, before you actually started dating Blaine the idea of you with a boyfriend was a _what if_. Then once Blaine actually manned up and you two started dating, it was suddenly way real." He glanced over at Finn for affirmation and Kurt saw Finn nod once from the corner of his eye. "It was kinda scary, Kurt—seeing you walking around with Blaine after all the shit you went through before transferring to Dalton."

Kurt's brow lowered in confusion and he looked between the two boys curiously. "What do you mean?"

Finn took that as his cue to take over the explanation apparently, because he cleared his throat and scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck as he tried to find the words he was looking for.

"Even though you and Blaine weren't, y'know, like way open and touchy feely and stuff, it was still really obvious you were _together_." Finn glanced at Sam. "Like—you could tell just looking at you two. And if it was obvious to me then it had to be obvious to people like Karofsky and Azimio, and somewhere along the line I guess I finally stopped worrying about you being gay and just started worrying about _you_, dude." He looked back to Kurt uncertainly. "Did you honestly think I wasn't keeping an eye on you?"

Kurt chewed on the inside of his cheek rather than answering, because the honest truth was that he had thought exactly that. Finn still read his silence as answer enough.

"Well, I was," he mumbled.

Kurt simply watched his step-brother for a moment, trying to wrap his head around Finn's confession. Surprisingly, he found that it wasn't nearly as hard to do as he would have imagined.

"Thank you," he finally replied, tilting his head just enough to be sure and catch Finn's eye. Finn's hesitant grin caused Kurt's lips to tilt in a small smile of his own.

"The point is," Sam spoke up, drawing the pair's attention, "We've asked around a bit, and word is that this Sebastian guy's a total tool."

And just like that, Kurt found himself shocked speechless.

Finn shifted next to him restlessly. "But he doesn't act like it," he admitted, frowning in thought. "So we're not really sure what to think. Lately, he's been a lot nicer to you than—well, most of the people in glee club."

"Not that that's saying much," Sam grumbled sourly.

Finn grimaced. "For real, man." He looked to Kurt expectantly. "So Sam and I talked about it, and we're not gonna throw this dude under the bus just because he's got a bad rep. Right now he seems to be pretty into you—and not in like, a creepy way—but you're always smiling when you get home from hanging out with Sebastian so he can't be all that bad. Right?"

Kurt was beginning to get a headache trying to keep up with Finn's logic. He looked to Sam pleadingly for help.

Sam laughed lightly. "You like this guy, right?"

Kurt grudgingly nodded.

"Well that's good, cuz after you two made out at the Lima Bean last night I'd have been kind of worried if you didn't," Finn said helpfully.

That earned another look from Kurt, but Finn didn't even seem to notice—probably because he was too preoccupied with rubbing his thumb over Kurt's sheets distractedly. Kurt slapped Finn's hand away from the sheet with a scowl.

"Don't you dare pull a thread loose on those sheets, Finn Hudson. I _will _end you."

Finn quickly dropped the blanket and grinned at Kurt sheepishly.

"You two have serious problems focusing," Sam declared, snapping his fingers in front of Kurt's face once to draw his and Finn's attention back. He ignored the glare Kurt threw him for the effort. "Okay. So you like this guy, this guy apparently likes you—hooray. Just know that Finn and I are gonna screw his face up if he messes with you." Sam paused to bump fists with Finn before pointing at Kurt. "And you can feel free to pass that message along."

Kurt's jaw dropped for the second time that morning. Before he could even begin to formulate a reply, Finn was clapping him on the shoulder as he made to sit up.

"We just wanted you to know that we've got your back, little bro," Finn said with a tiny smile, "And- uh. I guess as far as guys go, that Sebastian dude's not bad-looking either. So, uhm… good job."

That proved to be the final straw for the morning, and Kurt finally gave into the urge to bury his face in his hands and _laugh_.

xxx

Kurt woke up Sunday morning without a voice.

By Monday he was curled up in the middle of his bed with no less than three different bags of cough drops, peeking miserably at the Wizard of Oz over the top of his comforter—well, when he could stand to be under the comforter, of course. Kurt's body couldn't seem to decide whether he was too cold or too hot and so he spent almost as much time shoving his comforter aside as he did brewing hot tea in the kitchen.

And by Tuesday, Kurt was fairly certain that his body was made up of 70% tea rather than water.

On Wednesday Kurt turned off his phone and shoved it under his pillow to put a stop to its incessant buzzing and he didn't even remembering doing so until late Thursday night. When he switched his phone back on and found he had 42 texts—mostly from Mercedes, Quinn, and Sebastian, but also including one "Get better!" text from Blaine and a couple from Finn that had apparently been sent from the next room asking about a pizza- Kurt actually found the decency to feel bad for ignoring everyone.

When Friday rolled around and Kurt could still hardly swallow without grimacing in pain, Burt finally had enough and shoved Kurt into the passenger seat of his truck before driving them both to the doctor. Much to Kurt's chagrin, he found himself pumped full of antibiotics within a couple of hours.

After a quick trip to the pharmacy the pair made their way home with Kurt all but falling asleep in the passenger seat of his dad's truck. The medicine was making him unforgivably drowsy, and perhaps this was why it took a moment longer than it should have for him to realize that Burt had parked on their street rather than in the driveway.

When Kurt lifted his head and cleared his throat in an attempt to question his dad about his parking choice, he finally took notice of the swarm of cars that had overtaken his driveway. His eyes narrowed when he noticed that at least three of the cars were foreign models— and that they were suspiciously familiar, though Kurt couldn't put his thumb on why.

He shot his father a curious glance before he warily slid from the truck.

Burt pretended not to notice the look as he got out himself, fiddling absently with his phone as he tried to remember how to work the email feature on the device.

The front door swung open then and Kurt watched in horror as Jeff Barnes bounded out onto the porch to greet them.

"Hey, Kurt! How'd the doctor's visit go?"

"Strep throat, just like we figured," Burt replied without missing a beat, still ignoring the glare Kurt was sending his way as he climbed the steps to the front porch, "Gave us a truckload of antibiotics and some spray for his throat."

Jeff offered a sympathetic grimace and clapped Kurt on the shoulder as soon as Kurt was near enough. "I hate that throat spray stuff. The last time I had to use it they gave me something that supposedly was cherry flavored- but I'm pretty sure it was goat's blood or something. Cherries just don't taste that awful, dude."

Kurt wrinkled his nose at Jeff's commentary and cast a suspicious glance at the packet of medicine Burt was clasping loosely in one of his hands. He suddenly remembered with horrific clarity the pharmacist mentioning that something in that bag of horrors had been flavored.

Burt caught Kurt looking at the bag and rolled his eyes before leading the way inside. "Goat blood or not, you're gonna use that junk just like the doc said." He tossed his keys in the bowl by the door and fixed Kurt with a look. "You already missed an entire week of school because I humored your little aversion to meds, but we had a deal, bud- we tried your way so now we're gonna do it mine."

Kurt folded his arms with a scowl and said nothing, but his glare spoke volumes.

His back abruptly stiffened at the sudden chorus of greetings that then reached his ears. He slowly looked around in dawning horror.

It seemed that most, if not all, of the Dalton Academy Warblers had taken over his kitchen and living room. Even from his spot at the door Kurt could see Caleb and Andre slouched on the couch and playing Call of Duty, knocking shoulders playfully in an attempt to mess up the other's game. Thad was sitting on the nearby loveseat and twisted around to greet Kurt as he came in, and a moment later Caleb and Andre paused their game to throw their own greetings his way.

The kitchen was stuffed with a mill of Warblers that seemed to be bickering over something simmering in a deep soup pot. Nick was apparently guarding the soup from whatever Trent was trying to add to it, and two sophomores that Kurt couldn't quite name (Connor and Tyler, maybe?) were standing off to the side and simply watching the pair in amusement. A few senior Warblers were hanging further back in the kitchen, and Kurt felt his breath catch when he realized Sebastian was among them.

Sebastian seemed to notice him at the same time—likely from the chorus of greetings that announced Kurt's arrival—and when he glanced up his eyes locked with Kurt's. Kurt could only watch as the other boy pushed away from the counter at his back and began to make his way across the room towards him with the tiniest of smiles.

Kurt finally raised a hand in a meek wave, his mortification at being caught in his comfort clothes reaching a new high. He dropped his hand to tug self-consciously at the hem of his worn and ratty _Wicked_ shirt, casting a longing glance towards the basement door and fleetingly wondering if he could escape down to his room before Sebastian was able to reach him.

Burt dropped a hand on Kurt's shoulder then and all but scared the hell out of him, but Kurt's nervous jump only made Burt snort in amusement. "Take a breather, Kurt. I'm gonna go stick your meds in the kitchen," Burt raised an eyebrow as he actually took a peak at the chaos that had engulfed their kitchen. ".. Or I'll leave them out here on the table," he amended wryly.

Sebastian reached them in time to catch the end of Burt's comment. "I can take that for you, Mr. Hummel," he offered knowingly, shooting his own glance behind him at the kitchen and grinning. Apparently Nick had resorted to trying to wrestle the seasoning out of Trent's hold at some point, because now the two boys were dashing around the kitchen as Nick barked out orders for the sophomores to guard the pot of soup while he took care of Trent.

Burt willingly handed the packet of medicine over to Sebastian. "Just make sure they leave the house standing, boys," he instructed, shaking his head in amusement.

Sebastian gave a theatrical grimace. "I'll do what I can, sir."

Kurt could only look between the two of them in bewilderment.

"I'll hold you to that," Burt tapped the medicine bag in Sebastian's hands then. "He's already drugged up for now, but if you manage to force whatever they're brewin' up in the kitchen down his throat, he's supposed to take one of 'em with a meal. Think you can remember that?"

Sebastian tilted the medicine packet towards himself as he glanced over the instructions even as he was nodding.

Kurt was startled when he felt an arm suddenly settle around his neck and tug him against someone's side, but when he looked up he was hardly surprised to find Jeff grinning between Sebastian and Burt.

"We can handle things from here, Mr. Hummel," Jeff declared with a grin.

Burt turned his gaze to Jeff and lifted an eyebrow wryly.

Jeff just continued grinning.

"Alright, alright," Burt lifted his hands in surrender and backed towards the front door, "I'm going. Just—don't set the house on fire. Or destroy it. And my kid had better be _breathing_ when I get home, boys or—"

"Relax, Mr. H," Jeff laughed, "Kurt's in good hands!" He shared a glance with Sebastian, both boys seeming a bit too amused with Jeff's statement to even begin to settle Burt's apparent concerns, but Nick emerged from the kitchen then and moved to stand on Kurt's other side, absently drying his hands on a dish towel.

"Don't worry about Kurt, Mr. Hummel," Nick offered politely, his smile genuine as he noticed Burt's obvious unease, "We have your number if we need you."

Kurt just continued to look between the four men surrounding him, his confusion warring with the warmth quickly spreading through him as his cloudy brain finally began to make sense of the chaos surrounding him.

Burt tugged at his ball cap distractedly. "I'll be at the shop a little late. If you can't reach me on my cell, try there."

Nick nodded. "Of course."

Burt swung his gaze to Kurt, fixing him with a square look. "You gonna be okay, bud?"

Kurt bit his lip and glanced between the three teenagers gathered around him, praying that his face wasn't as red as it felt. When he met Sebastian's amused eyes he quickly ducked his head to break the gaze.

He nodded shyly.

"Alright, then. I guess that's my cue," Burt looked to the other three boys. "You kids have fun. Just not—not too much, okay?"

The three Warblers all grinned at that but simply waved Burt on as he finally made his exit.

"Your dad's awesome," Jeff declared abruptly, glancing down at Kurt with a grin.

Kurt grinned weakly in return.

Nick shook his head with a smile of his own before he cuffed Jeff lightly on the back of his head as he made his way back to the kitchen. Predictably, Jeff lifted a hand to his hair with a theatrical pout and immediately turned to trail behind the other boy.

From the sudden sound of Nick's indignant shout, Kurt could only guess that Trent had finally succeeded in tampering with whatever Nick was cooking in the soup pot.

It wasn't until the sounds of a scuffle broke out in the kitchen that Kurt realized that Nick and Jeff's departure had left him completely alone with Sebastian. He swallowed nervously before chancing a wary glance at the other boy only to find Sebastian regarding him in almost fond amusement, his hip casually propped against the kitchen table and his arms folded over his chest.

Kurt felt a flush blooming over his cheeks when he took notice of the way that the navy blue polo Sebastian was currently wearing was stretched a little too tightly across his chest, the fabric straining ever so slightly where it covered his pecs and again around the thickest part of his biceps—which were currently accentuated by the way that Sebastian's arms were so casually folded.

Honestly. Kurt _hated_ Sebastian freaking Smythe.

Especially when he noticed Kurt's ogling and tilted his lips in a familiar, cocky smirk.

When Kurt's appreciative gaze turned into a glare Sebastian pushed away from the table with a put-upon sigh, straightening and moving to stand directly in front of Kurt. Thankfully, he also dropped his arms to his sides and so they weren't quite as distracting.

Sebastian looked Kurt over. "You look like shit," he offered mildly.

Kurt scowled and abruptly turned on his heel with every intent of making that beeline for his room. Suddenly, a kitchen full of Warblers was hardly enough of a deterrent—all Kurt wanted was to dash to his room, shower and put on actual _clothes_ and fix his hair and do something about the godawful _bags _under his eyes and—

Sebastian caught his wrist and spun Kurt back around with disgusting ease, his lips still tilted into a grin that had admittedly lessened at Kurt's attempt to retreat. When Kurt only rewarded him his best bitch-glare, Sebastian actually had the grace to look apologetic.

"Hey—I was kidding, Christ." He took a step closer to Kurt and used the hand on Kurt's wrist to keep him still. "You really are a bitch when you're sick, aren't you?"

Kurt lifted his eyebrows, unimpressed.

"Fine. You're a bitch all of the time," Sebastian amended with a quick smirk, "You're just _especially so_ when you're sick."

That made Kurt bite his lip to keep a grin from forming. He ducked his head to ensure that Sebastian couldn't see the expression either way, but he didn't try to free his wrist from Sebastian's hold.

Especially since Sebastian had absently began to run his thumb over the inside of Kurt's wrist—and who knew _that_ part of him was so sensitive?

Sebastian suddenly used his grip on Kurt's wrist to tug Kurt to him, catching him with an arm slung around his shoulders.

"Seriously, how are you feeling?"

Kurt shivered at the way that Sebastian's voice had lowered, at the way that he could feel Sebastian's breath ghosting over the shell of his ear when the other boy spoke. Sebastian luckily mistook his shiver as Kurt being cold and simply dropped Kurt's wrist in favor of wrapping both arms around him more securely.

It took a moment for Kurt to remember that Sebastian had even asked him a question. It took another few for him to even attempt to clear his throat and test his voice.

"Like shit," he croaked out, grimacing at the sound of his own voice.

Sebastian hissed sympathetically at the obvious pain it caused Kurt to talk—and possibly because Kurt sounded like an eighty year old smoker that had to plug a hole in their neck to speak. He gave Kurt's shoulders a sympathetic squeeze.

Kurt gave up any attempt at dignity then and lifted his arms to curl around Sebastian's middle. He leaned his forehead against the other boy's chest and breathed in, letting the increasingly familiar scent of Sebastian's cologne soothe him as Kurt, for once, simply let himself be held.

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that. It wasn't likely to have been for very long, but Nick and Jeff eventually wandered back out of the kitchen and effectively ruined the moment.

"Seriously—they're fucking adorable, Nick," Jeff mused, drawing both Sebastian and Kurt's attention and earning a glare from them both when they spotted him leaned against the doorjamb and watching them fondly. Jeff wasn't fazed in the least. "Do you think people think we're that cute?"

"No. People think you're insufferable," Sebastian volunteered flatly.

Kurt allowed a tiny laugh at that and tipped his head to rest against Sebastian's chest again, keeping Nick and Jeff within his sight so that he could watch them in lazy amusement.

Nick's jaw dropped indignantly and he jerked a thumb towards Jeff. "Don't lump me with him."

Jeff responded by grinning and slinging an arm around Nick's shoulders. "Baby, don't be like that." He pressed an obnoxious kiss to Nick's temple that earned him a swift elbow to his ribs. Jeff didn't even seem to notice the blow and continued to make obnoxious kissing noises as he craned his neck to try and catch Nick's lips in a kiss. Nick was having none of it, of course, and simply kept leaning in the opposite direction until the two were nearly doubled over.

Kurt didn't have to look up at Sebastian to know the other boy was rolling his eyes.

Ben came out of the kitchen then and clapped his hands together, glancing between the quartet curiously. "As cute as this love-fest is, do you mind moving it to the living room so we can get the invalid settled in and start the show?"

Kurt lifted his head and glanced up at Sebastian with a curious frown.

Sebastian only shook his head. "Ben's been nagging us to sit down and watch this show with him for months. He's only using your obsession with Nathan Fillion as an excuse to con us all into finally watching it."

Kurt perked up at 'Nathan Fillion' and looked to Ben in question.

Benjamin only grinned. "You'll see."

Sebastian groaned. "And that's what he says any time we ask him what this show even _is_."

"You can't go wrong with Nathan Fillion," Kurt conceded.

He pretended not to notice the grimaces that his wrecked voice earned from the other boys and instead took Sebastian's hand in his and led the way to the living room. When Sebastian actually followed behind him with no more than a sigh, Kurt did his best not to let his surprise show.

Ben moved to the television and switched the auxiliary input without a word, earning indignant shouts from the group of Warblers that had been in the middle of their game of Call of Duty. Ben didn't even seem fazed as he ducked in front of the entertainment system and began to fiddle with the Blu-Ray player set beneath the television.

Sebastian nodded to Andre and Caleb. "Beat it, boys. You're in sickly's spot."

Kurt shot Sebastian a disdainful glance over his shoulder, but Sebastian again pretended not to notice. He instead bent to retrieve a blanket and pillow from the pile that had somehow formed at the foot of the couch. When he straightened and caught Kurt watching him, his lips tilted into a familiar smirk.

Kurt's answering scowl was without heat.

Surprisingly, Andre and Caleb actually listened to Sebastian and both clamored off of the couch. Andre paused at the foot of the couch and swept a hand towards the couch with a mocking half-bow. "After you, milord."

"You're adorable, really." Sebastian deadpanned. He nudged Kurt towards the couch with his elbow and deposited the pillow and blanket on one of the cushions.

It only took a few moments for the group of boys to settle into the living room. Though he wasn't sure exactly how it had happened, Kurt had ended up on the couch next to Sebastian with a blanket curled around his own shoulders and a pillow shoved onto Sebastian's lap. The other boy hadn't seemed particularly fazed at the arrangement and had simply tugged at Kurt to lay down.

Kurt fought the urge to sigh once he was finally settled. He tucked his face into the pillow propped against Sebastian's thigh, tugging the blanket higher around his shoulders as he curled in on himself. He felt the weight of Sebastian's hand settle heavy on his side and could only hope that he wasn't _actually _purring in contentment.

The moment was ruined when Kurt felt someone suddenly grab and lift his feet. He quickly raised his head and spotted Caleb slipping onto the far end of the couch, his eyes on the television and his attention on whatever Ben was saying, and Kurt could only stare as Caleb shifted Kurt's feet back to his lap without so much as batting an eye.

Sebastian, of course, felt Kurt tense against him and glanced down at him curiously.

"Okay down there, princess?" he drawled quietly, though his brow was actually furrowed slightly in concern. The hand that had been resting idly against Kurt's side shifted to rub against his arm soothingly.

Kurt eyed Caleb for a moment longer before forcing himself to relax again—and really, Sebastian's hand moving over his arm may or may not have been a deciding force in the entire relaxing thing—before he shook his head dismissively and curled into the pillow and Sebastian once more. "'s nothing," he mumbled.

He missed the glance that Sebastian and Caleb exchanged over his head.

Ben straightened from his crouch in front of the television then and turned to regard the chaos of the living room. After a moment he cleared his throat theatrically, lifting his chin and glancing over the mass of Warblers in what may or may not have been the most horrifically accurate Wesley Vaughn impression Kurt had witnessed to date.

After a moment, even the ruckus from the kitchen died down as the rest of the Warblers began to filter into the living room. Most of them seemed to catch onto Ben's impersonation as quickly as Kurt had, for there were several meaningful glances and grins exchanged between the upperclassmen.

Benjamin only grinned wider and clasped his hands behind his back.

"Gentlemen, if you wouldn't mind, we'd like to get things started since our guest of honor has finally arrived," he spared Kurt a cheeky wink, "If everyone would please take a seat? We'll begin the show."

Caleb rolled his eyes. "Jesus Christ, Hayes. Tell us what we're watching already."

Kurt lifted his blanket to cover his grin at Caleb's remark, but when Ben stuck his hands on his hips and scowled at the hulking blonde in irritation, Kurt's attempt to hide his amusement became a lost cause. He could only turn his face into the pillow beneath his cheek and hope his silent giggles weren't too obvious.

"Patience is _clearly _a virtue you failed to inherit, Caleb," he heard Ben sniff.

"Benjamin, if you don't shut up and start the stupid movie I'm going to hurt you."

Kurt wasn't sure which Warbler had made the threat, but when he heard the theater system whirl to life he finally deemed it safe enough to peak over the top of his blanket. When Kurt found himself staring at the back of a head of black, unruly hair he blinked owlishly and shifted to put some distance between himself and—oh, it was only Nick. Kurt relaxed against his pillow again once he realized that Nick and Jeff had taken up spots leaning against the couch from their spots on the floor.

As the opening credits began to roll on the television, Kurt chanced a covert glance up at Sebastian. He found the other boy scowling incredulously at the tv set, his eyes shifting over to Benjamin skeptically as his hand drifted from Kurt's arm to rest just below his ribs once more.

"What the hell is this, Hayes?" Sebastian demanded flatly.

"Just shut up and watch, Smythe," Ben snapped in return. Kurt glanced away from Sebastian long enough to see Benjamin settle on the floor on the other side of Jeff.

Kurt's attention snapped to the television when Nathan Fillion's voice suddenly filled the room. He felt more than heard Sebastian's amused chuckle at the motion and simply swatted at the Warbler's knee in reprimand. His eyes didn't shift from the tv, though.

It wasn't long before the group of boys became completely immersed in the show-apparently, Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin acting as space cowboys just had that kind of effect. The room fell quiet save for the occasional commentary that would arise during any given fight, but despite his best efforts, Kurt felt himself beginning to drift off before the second episode had even finished.

He stirred a bit when he felt a hand card carefully though his hair, but for once Kurt couldn't bring himself to raise a fuss over the matter. After all, it wasn't like his hair had been _fixed_ today by any means. There was also the tiny matter about how amazing the action felt, and how he could swear that he felt his headache receding just the tiniest bit under Sebastian's administrations.

The couch shifted slightly as Nick tipped his head back.

"Is he out already?" Kurt heard Nick ask quietly.

The fingers combing through Kurt's hair stilled-for one horrible moment, Kurt thought that Sebastian was actually going to retract his hand completely. However, the other boy resumed threading his fingers through Kurt's hair after only a breath's hesitation.

"I think so," Sebastian murmured. Kurt was surprised at how gentle his voice was. "He's burning up though, so he probably needs the rest."

"Probably," Nick agreed quietly. A moment passed where Kurt was sure that the pair's attention had shifted back to the show, but then Nick spoke again. "You're actually pretty good with him, you know."

Kurt felt Sebastian tense.

Nick didn't say anything further, but neither did Sebastian. In fact, when the opening theme began for the third episode and Sebastian still hadn't relaxed back, Kurt took that as his cue to casually rearrange himself on the sofa. He carefully rolled over, making sure not to accidentally kick Caleb as he did so, and turned his face into the soft cotton of Sebastian's shirt. When he slung an arm over Sebastian's middle he accidentally knocked the pillow he had been using to the floor, but Kurt couldn't be bothered to care.

He curled his arm and his body closer to Sebastian and was rewarded by feeling the tension all but melt away from the other boy. Thankfully his face was hidden in the folds of Sebastian's shirt, otherwise Kurt was sure that his triumphant grin would have been a bit ridiculous. He continued to feign sleep when Sebastian carefully rested his hand against the curve of Kurt's shoulder once again- however, this time Kurt covered Sebastian's hand with his own. He even went so far as to lace their fingers together.

It wasn't long thereafter that Kurt genuinely fell asleep, dreaming of fireflies.


	10. Track Nine

Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay on getting this chapter out, but I haven't had internet for a few days and have been moving so things have been a little insane. Also, you all need to send some love out to **tiedtothemast**, my new beta! She's the best!

**Coffeeshop Soundtrack**

Track Nine

Kurt was shaken awake some time later.

He stirred with a groan and tried to curl himself tighter around his pillow, only to realize that the aforementioned pillow was warm and alive and breathing. Startled, his eyes snapped open and Kurt hastily pushed himself upright.

He instantly regretted the action as the room around him decided to tilt alarmingly the second that he opened his eyes.

"Woah, easy there tiger," a voice next to him drawled. Kurt felt the couch dip beneath him as the body next to his shifted, but he paid no heed—instead, he dropped his head into his hands and clenched his eyes tightly shut, concentrating on trying to breathe through the vertigo.

A hand settled between his shoulders a moment before it slid to the back of his neck**, **squeezing lightly as long fingers brushed against the fine hair at his nape. Kurt fought a shiver at the sensation. However, he didn't fight the urge to lean back into the strong grip and when he felt the hand begin to knead at the muscles in his neck.

"Better?" Sebastian asked quietly. His voice was close enough to Kurt's ear that it forced him to reluctantly open his eyes. Sure enough, Kurt found himself meeting Sebastian's startling green gaze, mere inches between them.

He allowed a weary smile.

"Much," Kurt admitted, keeping his voice low to match Sebastian's. He was vaguely aware of the sounds of a gunfight filling the living room, and could only assume the rest of the Warblers were still watching the show Ben had brought. "Thank you."

Sebastian shrugged and dropped his hand from Kurt's neck.

Kurt tried not to mourn the loss too obviously.

"C'mon. Let's get some drugs in your system before you decide to play Sleeping Beauty again."

It was truly a testament to how lucid Kurt really was _not_ when he pouted back, "Sleeping Beauty was kissed awake."

Sebastian froze, his eyes widening a little in surprise**,** mouth dropping open even as his lips tried to pull into a grin. Under any other circumstances Kurt would have found his expression _hilarious_. As it was, Kurt was already tugging the blanket pooled over his legs up and over his head and tipping into Sebastian's side with every intent of hiding for the next year or two.

In a rather uncharacteristic act of mercy, Sebastian allowed Kurt all of a minute to wallow before standing and pulling Kurt up after him. Kurt gave a dramatic groan before rising to his feet, but shot Sebastian a sleepy scowl when he noticed that the other boy was grinning openly at his expense.

Judging by Nick and Jeff's smirks, the pair hadn't exactly been oblivious to Kurt's little 'Sleeping Beauty' slip either.

"We'll save the kissing for when you're no longer contagious," Sebastian deadpanned, ushering Kurt into the kitchen. He moved over to the stove and made quick work of filling a bowl with soup while Kurt settled into one of the bar stools and watched him.

Sebastian slid the bowl across the bar to Kurt before turning and glancing around the kitchen, clearly searching for a spoon. Kurt's lips quirked sleepily and, after clearing his throat to regain Sebastian's attention, he nodded towards the drawer next to Sebastian's hand. The brunette frowned at him for a beat before understanding dawned and he quickly retrieved a spoon from the indicated drawer to pass over to Kurt.

Kurt opened his mouth to attempt a 'thank you' when the doorbell sounded. The pair exchanged a puzzled glance before Sebastian moved around the bar and towards the door, beckoning for Kurt to stay put over his shoulder as he passed.

The sounds from the television in the next room abruptly fell silent, drawing Kurt's attention. Through the cut-out over the stove he caught a glimpse of the boys sprawled in the next room and found most of them twisting to face the door curiously. After a moment, Kurt did the same.

If he hadn't been watching Sebastian when the other boy pulled open the front door, Kurt would have missed the way that his shoulders tensed the moment he caught sight of whoever was standing on the doorstep. Having seen Sebastian so loose and carefree only a moment before, there was no missing the instant the Warbler's walls slammed back into place as he regarded the visitor coolly.

A heavy silence fell over the house. Not a single boy from the living room made a sound, and even Sebastian remained quiet as he stared down whoever was outside. Kurt slid soundlessly from the barstool and made his way over to the front door. He didn't even notice when Nick and Jeff suddenly appeared at his elbows.

"-bastian?" he croaked, the first syllable of the other boy's name lost somewhere behind the gravel in his throat.

Sebastian glanced at him sharply, and even though Kurt knew that the iciness in the glare wasn't directed at him, he still felt his chin lifting just an inch higher in response. To the other boy's credit, Kurt's reaction did not go unnoticed by Sebastian and he grimaced apologetically before falling back a step and placing a hand on the small of Kurt's back. Sebastian's body was casually angled between Kurt and their visitor, effectively blocking their guest from Kurt's view.

"Go sit back down, Kurt," Sebastian commanded quietly. The steel behind the words startled Kurt enough that he stopped trying to peer around Sebastian's shoulder and looked up at him in surprise, his own expression quickly darkening in concern.

Sebastian didn't notice— he was nodding to someone over Kurt's head. "His medicine's on the counter."

Kurt blinked when Jeff took him by the elbow then and promptly steered him towards the kitchen. The blonde's expression was uncharacteristically grim, and when Kurt actually caught Nick shooting a glare at the mysterious visitor, he felt his own jaw tighten.

He jerked his arm out of Jeff's hold and shot the blonde a glare before he moved back towards the door purposefully.

"— are you even doing here, Smythe?"

Kurt stilled in his tracks at the sound of the familiar, honeyed voice. Suddenly, the reason behind the Warblers' strange behavior became all too clear.

"I could ask you the same thing, Anderson."

Sebastian's voice was clipped, razor-sharp. It was exactly how he had sounded when Kurt had first met the other boy and Kurt hated the sound as much now as he had then. Maybe that was why, before he was aware of his intent to do so, Kurt was tucking himself against Sebastian's side in an attempt to ease some of the tension threatening to snap Sebastian's spine in two. He smoothed a hand between Sebastian's shoulder blades and glanced at the boy standing on his doorstep.

Blaine's expression softened when he caught sight of Kurt.

"Can I talk to you? Please?" He spared a withering glance at Sebastian before adding, "Alone."

Kurt arched an eyebrow at the look that passed between the two boys, but he made no comment on it. Instead he continued to rub his hand over the back of Sebastian's shoulders in an attempt to ease some of the tension there. It was a futile effort, and it only earned him another loaded glance from Blaine. Sebastian was so busy trying to send Blaine six feet under with his glare alone that he didn't even seem to notice the touch.

It was a herculean effort for Kurt not to sigh again.

He shifted so that he was standing in front of Sebastian and placed his hands on the other boy's chest to push him back into the house. He honestly wasn't too surprised when Sebastian didn't budge an inch.

"Anything you've got to say to him you can say in front of me," Sebastian declared before he put a stop to Kurt's shoving by simply winding an arm around Kurt's shoulders and pulling him to his chest possessively. Both the action and Sebastian's words caught Kurt so off-guard that he didn't think to put up a fight.

Blaine didn't share his dilemma.

"Sebastian—give me fifteen minutes," Blaine grit out. His hands were curled into tight fists at his sides.

"Not gonna happen."

The two boys entered some sort of standoff after that. Blaine was busy glaring at Sebastian while Sebastian was preoccupied with scowling at Blaine, and Kurt could feel his headache beginning to return from the tension quickly building between them. He made a split-second decision and stepped out from under Sebastian's arm to nudge him back inside of the house.

"Fifteen minutes."

Sebastian's jaw actually dropped before he remembered himself and fixed his expression into a scowl.

xxx

An uncomfortable silence fell between the pair.

Kurt glanced up as the front door opened once again. His eyes automatically narrowed when Sebastian stepped out onto the porch, jacket in hand, and he watched in budding annoyance as the other boy made his way over to where he and Blaine sat perched on the porch swing. Any protest Kurt had been about to make died on his lips when Sebastian simply draped the jacket around Kurt's shoulders.

"You're already sick, you know," he grumbled, even as he bent at the waist and tugged at the jacket until it was settled more securely over Kurt's shoulders. Sebastian's gaze flicked up to meet Kurt's for a moment before he grudgingly glanced at Blaine. "Fifteen minutes."

The words were as much a command as they were a promise.

With that, Sebastian turned and made his way back inside the house without a backwards glance, the heavy tread of his footsteps loud on the quiet porch.

Kurt shook his head and lowered his gaze to his lap, chewing his lower lip to fight back the smile he could feel trying to form.

Silence fell once again between he and Blaine, but Kurt hardly even noticed. He was too busy making mental bets as to which window Sebastian was likely watching from at that point. Picturing Sebastian Smythe spying through his living room curtains was enough to force Kurt to fight back another grin.

Oh, that boy.

"What's… going on, Kurt?" Blaine finally asked, voice equal parts wrecked and tired. He was sitting hunched over on the opposite end of the porch swing, a hand rubbing over the back of his neck and his expression tilted into a grimace. It was a strange thing, but despite Blaine's close proximity he couldn't recall a time when the other boy had ever felt so far away.

Beneath all of that, though, there was no mistaking the tension that tightened Blaine's shoulders and hooded his eyes.

Kurt felt his own jaw set as he worked not to read too much into Blaine's inquiry. Judging by the hard tone of his voice and the suspicious gleam of his eye, Kurt had little doubt as to how Blaine's question had honestly been intended. Rather than call the other boy on it, though, Kurt decided to play it ignorant.

"What do you mean?"

Blaine was clearly unamused. "You know what I mean," he said, words sharp-edged. "What's going on between you and Sebastian? What's going on with _us_?"

The venom Blaine managed to put behind Sebastian's name caused Kurt to bristle. "My relationship with Sebastian isn't any of your concern," he snapped hoarsely. He sat up a little straighter and tugged the jacket (which he now realized could only belong to Sebastian, judging by the familiar scent of expensive cologne and musk and _boy_ that clung to the garment) closer around his shoulders against the cold wind that had begun to pick up.

It seemed that Blaine was not far gone enough in his anger to miss the action, because his scowl lessened ever so slightly and he glanced at the front door in thought. "We should go in," he finally decided, moving to stand before seeming to think better of it. He shifted back onto the porch swing awkwardly and shoved his own hands in his pockets. "Or—you should. I'd hate for you to get sicker because I—"

Kurt shook his head once. "Stop, Blaine." He offered the other boy what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Just—talk to me?"

Blaine watched him for a moment, his knee jumping absently in an old gesture that Kurt wasn't even sure that Blaine was aware of. "Will you at least put that thing on properly?" He shifted closer to Kurt and reached for him, and Kurt instinctively leaned back to recover some distance between them.

There was no mistaking the hurt that lit Blaine's eyes, just as there was no ignoring the answering guilt that curled tight in Kurt's stomach. Blaine sat back then and lifted his hands in silent surrender, but his eyes dropped stubbornly to his own lap instead of continuing to hold Kurt's gaze.

Kurt scrambled to quickly tug the jacket on himself.

Maneuvering in the little space he had was awkward at best, but he still managed to slip his arms through the coat's sleeves with minimal fanfare, folding his arms to keep the jacket tight around him and doing his best not to breathe in the scent of Sebastian too obviously. To say he was swimming in the jacket would be generous—the sleeves were too long, the shoulders too wide, the length too long—but… Kurt found he liked the jacket. A lot.

Blaine was watching him again. Kurt could only hope that he wasn't smiling dopily or blushing too fiercely- the thought alone made him curl the jacket tighter around him.

Seeing as the other boy clearly wasn't looking to lead the conversation anymore (and maybe a little bit because Kurt would rather be inside curling up with Sebastian instead of his jacket), Kurt took it upon himself to get the conversation moving once again.

He also decided that there was no point in continuing to beat around the bush.

"Is there a particular reason that you wanted me to believe that you and Sebastian didn't know each other, Blaine? Or were you afraid that sharing that little pearl of information would damage your game?"

Just like that, every ounce of tension Kurt had seen thrumming just below the surface in Blaine came boiling to the surface.

"That's what this is about? Sebastian told you that you were—what? A chase?" Blaine's voice was actually shaking with poorly controlled anger. He no longer had issues meeting Kurt's gaze; in fact, he seemed to be doing his damned best to stare Kurt down. "And you _believed that_?"

Kurt's own temper flared. "His argument was a little convincing, _Blaine_," he sneered, "Seeing as he was kind enough to provide a wealth of details that you'd conveniently left out during our many _Getting to Know You_ coffee dates."

"Did it ever occur to you that I didn't tell you because I knew exactly how you'd react?" Blaine's hands were curled into fists where they rested on his thighs. "I wasn't lying when I said I was bad at romance, Kurt!"

Kurt laughed. It was a humorless, biting sound, and it sounded nothing like him. "There's a giant gap between 'bad at romance' and 'raging whore', Blaine." When Blaine actually drew back a bit as if Kurt had physically struck him, Kurt almost felt the decency to be a little contrite for his words. Almost. "Exactly how many boys have you chased since we met? Or—no, let's be fair; how many boys have you chased since we started dating?"

Blaine stood up and stalked over to the porch railing, offering Kurt his back as he seemed to try and cool his temper. Once upon a time, Kurt would have actually appreciated the view of Blaine's shoulder blades that the other boy's stance offered him. As it were, Kurt only felt a sort of smug satisfaction at the tension he could see tightening Blaine's shoulders.

"None," Blaine finally spat, turning from where he had braced himself against the porch railing and scowling at Kurt. "I haven't _chased _anyone since you—since I met you."

Kurt didn't miss the slip.

"So you admit that I was a chase, then?"

"What? No! Christ, Kurt, what's gotten into you?" Blaine lifted his hands and tugged at his hair in frustration before letting out a dark chuckle. "Scratch that. I know what's gotten into you. Fucking _Smythe_."

Honestly, Kurt had no idea what possessed him, but he couldn't keep himself from responding with a flippant, "Not yet."

He wasn't expecting Blaine to suddenly whirl on him and grab him by the shoulders. He certainly wasn't expecting the front door to slam open an instant later or for Sebastian to come storming out onto the porch, for him to grab Blaine by the back of his jacket and physically haul him away from Kurt.

He didn't know Blaine would twist free of Sebastian's hold and come back swinging.

Kurt was on his feet in an instant, blindly pushing his way between the two boys, his brain still too foggy with sleep and medicine for him to consider the potential danger of such an action. He managed to edge between Blaine and Sebastian before Blaine's blow could land, somehow miraculously managing to miss the blow himself, and managing to grab Sebastian's arm before Sebastian could draw his fist back in retaliation.

Both boys stilled instantly, their eyes wide and stunned as they stared at Kurt.

"Stop it!" Kurt growled out, the gravel in his voice finally paying off as the command came out harsher than he could have ever hoped. "You two are acting ridiculous!"

Sebastian glared at Kurt incredulously. Blaine just scowled at Sebastian.

Kurt was having none of it. He took a purposeful step back, moving out of the pair's way and nodding to the porch swing. "Sit."

Admittedly the command came out shakier than Kurt would have liked, but his head was beginning to spin a little and he couldn't be bothered to care too much. Sebastian seemed to somehow pick up on this—damn that boy for being so irritatingly perceptive—and rather than comply he put an arm around Kurt's shoulders and promptly steered him towards the house.

"Whatever. We're going inside first," Sebastian said without so much as a backwards glance at Blaine to see if he was in fact following behind them. He led Kurt back into the house before Kurt could even think to protest.

Surprisingly, Blaine grudgingly trailed along behind them.

As much as Kurt had expected to find every eye trained on them as the they crossed over the threshold into the living room, he still found himself squirming under the combined attention of the Warblers. The tension that hung heavy in the air certainly didn't help ease the sensation.

A beat of uncomfortable silence passed before Trent (bless him) took it upon himself to break it.

"Hey, Blaine," he greeted jovially, going so far as to wave from his spot on the floor next to the coffee table. Even if his cheer was clearly forced, the greeting still had the desired effect- Blaine's shoulders relaxed infinitesimally and he shot Trent a hesitant smile.

"Hey there, Trent," Blaine returned.

Slowly the other Warblers began to offer their own greetings to Blaine, some more stilted than others and some (Jeff and Nick) settling instead for eying Blaine reproachfully.

Sebastian cleared his throat.

"Start the show back up, boys. We're just going to go have a heart to heart in the other room." He shot Kurt a wry glance at this and for a moment Kurt forgot his irritation with the other boy, simply offering Sebastian a playful glare and elbowing him in the side. Sebastian didn't even have the decency to pretend like the jab to his ribs hurt.

xxx

"Not to sound like a fucking five year old- but Blaine started all of this shit by showing up at my house Saturday and greeting me with a fist to the face," Sebastian drawled.

Blaine flushed angrily. "You made out with my boyfriend!"

"_Ex!" _Kurt and Sebastian snapped in unison. They spared each other a sharp glance before swinging their glares back to the raven haired boy sitting across from them.

The three of them had retreated back to Burt and Carole's bedroom in their search for privacy, and this was how Kurt found himself sitting next to Sebastian on his parents' bed while Blaine frowned at them from his place on Carole's vanity bench.

Sebastian's lips tilted into a sneer. "Do I need to refresh your memory, Anderson? _He kissed me_." There was no missing the cocky bravado behind Sebastian's words, and there was certainly no mistaking the pleasure he took in watching Blaine flinch in response to them.

"_He_ is sitting right here," Kurt growled. He shoved Sebastian's arm off of his shoulders in annoyance and shifted to put some distance between them on the bed. When his actions earned him a frown from Sebastian, he pointedly paid it no need.

Blaine was dragging his hands over his hair in frustration.

"Can we…" he hesitated before reluctantly glancing between Kurt and Sebastian. "Can we please just talk this mess out like adults?"

Kurt raised a brow pointedly at Sebastian.

Sebastian scowled and folded his arms, but he made no move to get up. Miraculously, he even managed to bite back a retort.

Blaine licked his lips before dropping his hands to his lap. "I guess I'll start." He took a steadying breath before his eyes flicked up to meet Kurt's own. "I owe you an apology, Kurt. You're right- there were a lot of things I should have been honest with you about, but you have to believe me when I say that I just didn't know how to even bring most of that stuff up with you. I mean, how do you casually throw out _hey, that shirt looks great- by the way, did I mention that I used to sleep around a lot?" _

Kurt's lips tilted in reluctant amusement.

"You need to know that you were never a chase for me, Kurt," Blaine continued, voice painfully earnest. "When we first met I couldn't even think of you like that-" at Kurt's raised brow he quickly continued, "-not because you weren't gorgeous or perfect or-"

"Quit while you've still got teeth, Blaine," Sebastian warned evenly.

Blaine spared Sebastian a withering glance before turning his eyes back to Kurt. "Kurt, when you showed up at Dalton you had so much on your plate; Karofksy, the bullying, the drama with New Directions and your new family… I couldn't even consider trying to make a move on you because I just wanted to _help _you." Blaine's gaze dropped to his hands. "That makes me sound like a pretentious ass, doesn't it?"

He didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "I meant well. I don't think I actually helped all that much but-"

"Blaine, no," Kurt quickly interrupted, "You're the only thing that kept me _sane_ back then. Nefarious intentions or not, if it wasn't for you I would have-" he trailed off with a frown before hugging Sebastian's jacket tighter around his middle. '-I don't know what I would have done."

The weight behind that confession stole the very air from the room.

When Sebastian shifted closer to drape his arm back around Kurt's shoulders, Kurt didn't put up a fight this time- instead, he sank into Sebastian's side gratefully and let the other boy's warmth and scent steady him, let them ground him in the here and now.

He was surprised to feel the bed dip a moment later. He lifted his head to find Blaine settling in on his other side, not quite touching but close enough for Kurt to feel the warmth of his body.

Blaine's hands were once again stuffed deep within the pockets of his coat. His gaze, however, held Kurt's steadily and his lips even quirked into the slightest of strained smiles.

Other than the arm around Kurt's shoulders noticeably tensing, Sebastian gave no reaction to Blaine's proximity. In return, Blaine didn't so much as try to touch Kurt. The two boys remained on either of Kurt's sides and for once Kurt didn't feel like he was caught between them- and the change was a welcome one.

It felt like forever before Blaine finally continued speaking.

"Back at Dalton- when I told you that watching you sing Blackbird was a moment for me?" Blaine's voice was softer now, tinted fond with the memory, "That wasn't a line. As much as I had tried to keep things simple between us, the moment you came into the commons dressed in mourning for Pavarotti I knew my heart had never stood a chance against you."

Kurt was helpless to do anything but return the soft smile that Blaine shot him. He could feel his eyes growing a bit moist and quickly glanced away again, hoping that the sniffle he gave was attributed to his cold rather than Blaine's words. Sebastian's arm around Kurt's shoulders was beginning to feel heavy and out of place.

Rather than shrug the arm off or try and discreetly maneuver out from beneath it, Kurt lifted his hand to catch Sebastian's and to give it the slightest of squeezes.

Kurt didn't miss the flash of hurt playing across Blaine's features when he finally lifted his eyes to meet Blaine's again.

"You were _never_ a chase to me, Kurt," Blaine insisted, voice subdued but no less earnest.

Kurt finally looked away from Blaine, trying to gather his thoughts and likely looking like he was glaring at the dresser as he did so.

In all honesty, little of what Blaine had just admitted was surprising to Kurt. As he'd mentioned to Sebastian all those days ago at the Lima Bean, he had simply found it impossible to wrap his head around the idea that Blaine had gone through such drastic lengths to be with him if it had only been for the sake of a game or to get into Kurt's pants. Hell, Kurt had all but thrown himself at Blaine for weeks after they had first met and the other boy had hardly spared him a second glance.

But even if Blaine's feelings had been genuine and their relationship had been real, then that still left to question why Blaine had broken up with him at all.

"Alright," he finally allowed, drawing the word out as he considered, "Answer me this, then. If you were so in love with me, then why break things off?"

Kurt didn't miss Blaine's flinch. He watched the other boy shift in his spot uncomfortably, his expression pulling into a grimace as Blaine seemed to choose his words.

Blaine abruptly pushed out a sigh.

"The truth?"

"That would be a nice change," Kurt drawled in response. The arm around his shoulders tightened and he glanced up to find Sebastian smirking at him approvingly. Kurt fought the urge to roll his eyes in response.

"I didn't think I could handle a long-distance relationship," Blaine said, the words quick as if he was forcing them out before he could second guess them, "Actually, the concept terrified me. What if we grew apart? What if I messed up and cheated? What if _you_ cheated? Or what if no one cheated and we still broke up and we ended on bad terms? Or even if we ended amicably but neither of us bothered to keep in touch and-"

"Can we skip your laundry list of insecurities and file all of that away under _Blaine Overthinking Things_ and be done with it?" Sebastian drawled.

Blaine shot him a glare but fell silent anyways.

Kurt pursed his lips. "You couldn't have just talked to me about any of that, Blaine?" He disentangled his fingers from Sebastian's in order to cross his arms over his chest irritably.

To say he was unimpressed with Blaine's answering shrug would have been generous.

"Fine- alright. I suppose I understand your reasons, even if they were largely unfounded." Kurt sat up straighter and glanced between Sebastian and Blaine narrowly. "You can both feel free to answer this next question." He was almost amused by the alarmed glance the two boys exchanged at that. "_Why_ are you two so at odds?"

Before they could answer, he twisted to narrow his eyes at Sebastian. "Furthermore, what was the point in playing out the leering creep and blushing schoolboy routine?"

Sebastian flinched dramatically. "'Leering creep?' Ouch, babe."

Kurt offered him a flat glare. "You were completely inappropriate with your supposed advances on Blaine, and you insulted me at every chance you could take. I believe I'm more than entitled to an explanation, Sebastian Smythe."

Sebastian held up his hands in surrender.

Blaine surprised Kurt by actually laughing. "Well- for starters, Sebastian and I aren't quite 'at odds' with each other. Let's just say we've always had a love/hate relationship of sorts," he and Sebastian shared a smirk at that. "That entire mess was mostly an old party trick to mess with each other. When you stumbled across Sebastian and I having coffee at the Lima Bean when you two first met, he was trying to convince me to go with him to Scandals and stir up some of our old trouble. I'd just started trying to explain to him that I wasn't into that scene anymore when you wandered by- and then Sebastian decided to be an ass and decided to play it like we'd just met and he wanted to get into my pants." Blaine rolled his eyes at that and Sebastian only grinned. "He likes to make my life difficult like that."

"I keep things interesting," Sebastian countered smoothly. "Though honestly I was just appalled at the concept of _Blaine Anderson_ getting himself a ball and chain."

Blaine's eyes narrowed at that. "It's called a relationship, Sebastian- not that you'd understand since you've yet to meet anyone who can hold your attention for more than twenty minutes at a time."

Sebastian's eyebrows lifted in challenge. "That's not really the case anymore, now is it?"

And just like that, the tension between the pair came slamming back into place.

Kurt held up his hands between them. "Hey- no. Let's go back to the old pals routine, I think I liked it better," he laughed uncomfortably.

Blaine's jaw worked and he glanced away sharply, choosing to glare at the doorway rather than at Sebastian- and likely only because of Kurt's words. Sebastian had no such reservations and was watching Blaine with sharp, calculating eyes.

Then Blaine spun and looked Kurt dead in the eye, his brows pulled tight in a frown. "What are you even doing with him, Kurt? He's never made any qualms about hiding his true colors."

"After the mess you've made I would think that'd be a point in my favor, wouldn't it Blaine?" Sebastian retorted.

Blaine shoved to his feet. "That's it, Sebastian!" His voice was raised in a yell and his face was flushed an angry red again, and Kurt couldn't recall a time when he'd ever seen Blaine look so genuinely pissed off. "Do you think you can just breeze back into town, stir shit up, _steal my boyfriend_-"

"Ex!" Sebastian countered. He rose to his feet as well and glared down at Blaine. "What did you think was going to happen, Blaine? That you'd dump Kurt on his ass and he'd just hang around and wait for you to change your mind?"

Blaine took a step closer to Sebastian and scowled up at him. "Well I certainly didn't think he'd be stupid enough to get tangled up with _you_!"

Sebastian's eyes flashed and he shoved at Blaine even as he moved to close the distance between them again. "Watch your goddamned mouth-"

"Or _what_?" Blaine snarled, beginning to bounce on the balls of his feet to either get closer to Sebastian's height or because he was getting ready to lunge. "Since when do you care about anyone other than yourself, Smythe? Or is this just one of your games to get into Kurt's pants and-"

Kurt knew what was going to happen a second before it did, but he couldn't bring himself to intervene. He only watched as Sebastian drew back a fist and took a (well deserved) swing at Blaine, catching Blaine square across the cheek and sending the smaller teen stumbling back into the dresser pressed against the far wall.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel a sort of smug satisfaction watching Blaine stumble to catch his feet, one hand lifting to rub away the pain in his cheek. It only took him a moment to gather his bearings enough for him to move to charge at Sebastian.

Kurt did step between them then, glaring at Blaine even as he held an arm out to stay Sebastian. He didn't even realize that he'd forgotten to breathe until Blaine's stopped in his tracks to stare at Kurt in alarm. Judging from the way that Sebastian was pressing against his outstretched arm, Kurt figured it was a safe bet that the boy behind him was ready to launch at Blaine at the drop of a dime.

Blaine's shoulders slumped and he drug a hand over his hair again.

Kurt continued to glare at him.

"I think you need to leave," he finally said evenly.

Blaine's head snapped up in surprise at that. "Kurt. I-"

"Now."

Kurt allowed the arm he was using to keep Sebastian back to drop and was hardly surprised when Sebastian took that as his cue to personally escort Blaine out. He only watched as Sebastian grabbed Blaine by the arm and all but shoved him out of the bedroom door, following along right on his heels and herding him down the hallway.

Kurt dropped onto the bed behind him and scrubbed his hands over his face wearily.

A few minutes later the sound of the front door opening and shutting carried over the din of the television, and Kurt took a steadying breath.

Blaine was gone again and Kurt had no idea how he felt about it.

A part of him wanted to dance for joy- Blaine had come by to apologize. Did that mean that he wanted to get back together? Was that an option now? Did Kurt even want that to be an option?

He was surprised to find that he didn't even have to think about his answer.

Sebastian came back to the bedroom then, his expression still pulled into a scowl as he paused to lean against the doorjamb rather than cross over to where Kurt was still perched on the edge of his parents' bed. He folded his arms over his chest and eyed Kurt from a distance.

Kurt simply looked back, wondering what it was Sebastian was looking for and wondering even more whether or not he found it. Sebastian's face was too controlled just then for Kurt to tell, his eyes too guarded and his lips to thin.

Finally, Sebastian cleared his throat. "So… what now?"

Kurt bit back a smile at Sebastian's too-casual tone, knowing that grinning at the other boy just then would likely lead to a misinterpretation Kurt didn't want to deal with- or worse, would end up in Sebastian abruptly closing off and slipping behind the safety of his old masks. Instead, he pushed to his feet and pulled Sebastian's jacket closer around him as he purposefully crossed the room to stand in front of the other boy.

He tilted his head up to meet Sebastian's eyes, almost hunter green now with the shadows of anger and uncertainty that still clouded them, and offered Sebastian a tiny smile.

"Soup, medicine, and couch?"

The tension in Sebastian's shoulders visibly eased. He even went so far as to let his lips tilt into a crooked, boyish smile of his own.

"Fine, but you're using that throat spray stuff- your voice sounds like shit, Hummel," Sebastian declared, reaching out and taking Kurt's hand as soon as he was near enough.

Kurt wrinkled his nose at him but stepped closer so he could wind his arms around Sebastian's middle in a loose hug. The long-suffering sigh that Sebastian gave before curling his arms around Kurt's shoulders was half-assed at best, but the kiss that Sebastian pressed to Kurt's temple would have ruined the act anyways.

"… I'm not getting that jacket back, am I?"

"Not a chance."

xxx


	11. Track Ten

Author's Note: Hey guys! This update is going up unbeta'd right now, so if there's any ridiculous mistakes then they're all my own. I just really wanted to get this posted tonight!

Also, in case you happened to miss it or you don't follow me on tumblr, the second Bonus Track was posted a few weeks ago. Go check it out!

xblessthefall dot tumblr dot com

I've also revamped my tumblr a bit to make it easier for my CS stuff to find, so there's now an actual Coffeeshop Soundtrack page where all of the extras and whatnot will be posted. Convenient, right? Yeah- I know. I should have thought of that a long time ago. There's also a Cast page for all of my OCs that appear in this fic.

Anyways, on with the show.

**Coffeeshop Soundtrack**

Track Ten

By the time that Sam and Finn made it home from school, Kurt and Sebastian had once again joined the Warblers in the living room.

Kurt's suspicions concerning the pair's involvement with the Warbler Crash were all but confirmed when, rather than appearing surprised at coming home to find their living room packed full of Dalton boys, the brothers simply dropped their backpacks by the door and moved to join them.

No words had been exchanged other than the obligatory greetings at the pair's appearance, and for the next three hours the group of boys watched Firefly in silence.

Kurt had apparently drifted to sleep again sometime before his parents arrived home, for when he next opened eyes he found the living room darkened and the disc menu playing on loop on the television screen. Sebastian's arms were now loose around him, and when Kurt craned his neck to catch a glimpse of Sebastian's face he was unsurprised to find the other boy fast asleep.

It took a moment for Kurt to convince himself to drag his eyes away from Sebastian's sleeping face- really, the boy was almost criminally gorgeous, especially with his features so relaxed and unassuming in sleep. Furthermore, now that Kurt was finally given a chance to really _look_ at Sebastian without the other boy noticing, he was certainly going to take advantage of the opportunity while he had it.

It was only the fear that the weight of his gaze would wake Sebastian, and maybe a little bit due to the fact that Kurt still felt disgusting from his doctor's visit and wanted nothing more than to at least _change clothes_, but Kurt finally managed to find the willpower to maneuver out of Sebastian's arms and carefully move to his feet.

He watched the brunette critically for a moment, waiting to see if Sebastian would wake. Kurt released a tiny sigh when Sebastian didn't even stir.

After that, there was the matter of picking his way across the living room and towards the basement without accidentally stepping on someone- and that proved to be quite the challenge, seeing as having fourteen boys passed out and sprawled across every visible surface tended to limit space for walkways.

Still, somehow Kurt managed to make it to the kitchen without kicking anyone, and he paused to turn around and survey the mess of the living room that he had just tiptoed across.

When he spotted Jeff leaning against the front of the couch, Nick pulled in front of him and wrapped securely in Jeff's arms, their faces tilted together so their cheeks were touching as the pair slept on, Kurt did nothing to hide his grin.

He had to disagree with Sebastian's earlier claim- the pair _was_ sort of adorable.

Finn chose that moment to mumble something in his sleep, shifting around awkwardly from his spot on the floor as he tried to find a comfortable sleeping position. When his efforts only caused him to tip over so his head hit the floor with a dull thunk, Kurt couldn't help a tiny snort of amusement. Especially when Finn didn't even wake.

He shook his head and smiled to himself before making his way down to the basement to take a much-needed shower.

Later, when Kurt pulled open the bathroom door and padded his way back into his room, he froze as he caught sight of the boy perched on the edge of his bed. The towel that he had been using to dry his hair with stilled at the back of his head before Kurt lowered his hand, his expression softening and a fond smile tilting his lips.

Sebastian lifted his head at the sound of Kurt's muffled steps on the carpet. His eyes were bleary and half-lidded as he tried to blink himself awake again, his hair hopelessly sleep-mussed and his clothes rumpled so uncharacteristically. His lips pulled into an absent, tired pout as he gave Kurt a drowsy once-over.

"Sebastian?" Kurt crossed the room to stand in front of the other boy, lowering his voice unnecessarily. "What are you doing down here?"

If Kurt hadn't already been convinced that Sebastian was more asleep than awake at that moment, then when the other boy promptly wound his arms around Kurt's middle as soon as he was near enough and tipped his forehead to rest against Kurt's stomach, Kurt was sold on the matter. He bit his lip against the grin he felt forming and lifted a hand to comb his fingers through Sebastian's hair in an attempt to set it to rights.

"I thought you'd got sick," Sebastian mumbled.

Kurt blinked. "And you came to check on me?"

That earned a soft snort from Sebastian. "Of course I did."

Something about the simplicity of the answer punched the breath right from Kurt's lungs. Sebastian didn't notice, just tightened his hold around Kurt's waist a fraction and let out a quiet sigh of his own.

After a moment, Kurt shifted so he could drape his towel over the footboard of his bed and took a tiny step away from Sebastian's hold. Sebastian's reaction was instantaneous; his arms tightening abruptly around Kurt so that he all but drug him into his lap. Luckily, Kurt had anticipated such a reaction and managed to catch himself on one of Sebastian's shoulders.

"Sebastian, just lay down," he commanded gently, doing his best not to laugh at the (adorable) scowl the other boy shot at him for his attempted escape. "I need to dry my hair," when the other boy's expression pulled back into a pout Kurt couldn't help but add, "I'll only be a minute."

Sebastian only hummed non-committaly. Kurt had the sneaking suspicion that he was already well on his way to falling back asleep.

The sound of a pair of footsteps on the stairs caught Kurt's attention then. He glanced up to find Sam and Finn stumbling their way down the stairwell, both boys looking as if they were a split second from falling asleep on their feet and tumbling down the remaining steps. If Kurt had been a little more aware himself, he would have likely have been at least a little concerned over the pair's safety. As it were, he only raised an eyebrow at them in greeting.

"You guys didn't sneak off to have sex, did you?" Finn accused warily, squinting at Kurt and Sebastian as his eyes adjusted to the muted light of the basement. He didn't even bother to react when Sam smacked him on his arm for his lack of tact.

Sebastian lifted his head to glare flatly at Finn, and even Kurt had to admit that the look was rather impressive given Sebastian's half-asleep state.

Sam reached the landing first and made a beeline for Kurt's bed, unceremoniously draping himself over the foot of the mattress and throwing an arm over his eyes.

Kurt finally rolled his eyes at Finn and tried again to step out of Sebastian's hold.

He failed this time too.

"Sebastian," he sighed, "Let me go so I can dry my hair. It's going to frizz."

"It's three in the goddamned morning," Sebastian groused, even as he tightened his hold and leaned back, tipping Kurt off of his feet so he fell into Sebastian and knocked them both back onto the mattress. When Kurt tried to push off of him with a scowl, Sebastian only locked his arms around Kurt's middle again. "Sleep."

Finn dropped onto the other side of the bed, very nearly landing on Sebastian's head in the process but too sleepy to be bothered to notice. He at least managed to stretch out without kicking Sam in the face. "Yeah- why are we even up?"

"I have no idea why you three are up," Kurt deadpanned, still struggling to push up and out of Sebastian's hold.

Sebastian just continued to scowl at him.

"Had to make sure you two weren't getting it on," Finn grumbled. He was too busy punching Kurt's pillow into submission to notice the glare Kurt swung his way. "Burt'd kill us all."

Kurt continued to glare. "Rest assured, my virtue is still very much intact." He ignored the eyebrow Sebastian lifted at that. "You can all get off of my bed and go back upstairs, though."

Sam shook his head and smacked his lips absently, apparently already more asleep than awake. "Not happening, dude. Your bed's… _awesome_."

That earned a long-suffering sigh from Kurt. He finally gave up in his attempts to disentangle himself from Sebastian's hold and simply slumped against the brunette's chest. He did his best to ignore the smug hum that rumbled through Sebastian's chest as a result.

"I don't want to hear a word about my hair in the morning from any of you," Kurt sniffed, even as he was shifting to settle more comfortably between Sebastian and Finn on the bed. Sebastian kept an arm tight around Kurt, keeping him pressed close to his side. Kurt couldn't really find it in himself to mind.

Even if it did make flipping around so that they were lying on the bed the right way more than a little bit difficult.

Once settled, it didn't take long at all before Kurt felt himself drifting off to the warring sounds of Finn and Sam's snoring, letting the steady rise and fall of Sebastian's chest beneath his cheek to lull him into a dreamless sleep.

xxx

Kurt stirred at the sound of a stampede making its way down the basement stairs.

He groaned and rolled onto his side to curl into the warm body next to his. The arm slung over his waist flexed and pulled him closer instinctively, and some distant part of Kurt's brain woke up enough to recognize that he was waking up _next to someone_ and that he should probably start freaking out any minute.

It never happened.

About the same time that Kurt was actually shifting into the realm of the living, he recognized the lingering scent of whatever cologne it was that Sebastian wore and, rather than panicking as he probably should, he simply turned his face into Sebastian's neck and tried to let that scent lull him back to sleep.

Sebastian's chest vibrated with a questioning hum and his cheek tipped to rest against Kurt's hair, but he still didn't wake.

Kurt probably would have been asleep again within minutes if not for the herd of Warblers that had wasted no time in piling on the already crowded bed.

Kurt grimaced when he felt someone sit on his hip and instinctively twisted to dislodge them. When he lifted his head and actually blinked himself awake, he found himself glaring at Jeff—who was only grinning widely at him in return.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!" he crooned, eyes lit playfully as he readjusted himself to sit sideways on Kurt's hips. "You know, if you guys wanted to be alone for a foursome you only had to ask."

From the grumbling and swearing coming from the other side of the bed, Kurt deemed it safe to bet that Sebastian, Finn, and Sam were all receiving similar wake-up calls. When Nick suddenly fell into Kurt from Sebastian's side of the bed, Kurt's suspicions were only confirmed.

"—the hell is _wrong_ with you people?" Sebastian growled, his words slurred with sleep as he sat up and tried to shove Jeff off of Kurt's lap. Jeff of course only braced himself with a foot on the floor and leaned back into Sebastian's hands and didn't so much as budge an inch.

This infuriated Sebastian further. He shoved to his knees so that he was at the same height as Jeff and promptly planted his hands against the blonde's arm and _pushed. _

Jeff ended up sprawled across Kurt's bedroom floor.

Sebastian gave a sleepy, satisfied smirk before he tipped back against the pillows and threw an arm around Kurt's middle again, dragging him back against his side. Kurt watched the half-asleep brunette in amusement.

Sam suddenly surged off the bed and grabbed Benjamin in a headlock then, putting a stop to where the redhead had been pestering him awake. Ben was cackling too hard to seem to care.

Caleb arched an eyebrow from his place at the foot of the bed when Kurt looked up and caught his eye.

"Y'all can cuddle in the car," he drawled, "C'mon, we're starving."

Finn was blinking at Thad in bewilderment as the Warbler bounced on the bed next to him, jostling the quarterback with each movement. "Where are we going?" he grumbled, finally looking away from Thad in favor of eying Caleb.

Caleb rolled his eyes. "IHOP, of course."

That caught Kurt's attention. He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "IHOP? Really?"

Ben stopped struggling in Sam's hold and frowned at Kurt. "Yes, really. I want pancakes," he said, almost affronted. Then he blinked. "Hey- your voice is back. Sweet!"

"I want biscuits and gravy!" Trent volunteered, ignoring Ben's revelation in favor of the more important matters at hand (aka- food).

Nick and Jeff exchanged a look and shrugged. "Crepes," they said in unison. Jeff was still sitting on the floor.

"Steak and eggs," Caleb added.

Kurt lifted a hand to rub at his temple, regretting even asking as the Warblers continued to sound off a chorus of their orders. He felt more than heard Sebastian's chuckle as he began to rub a hand over Kurt's back in sympathy. When he opened his eyes and glanced up at the brunette, Kurt found Sebastian watching him in lazy amusement, his eyes still clouded dark from sleep.

"Sorry that you said anything yet?" he whispered conspiringly.

Kurt groaned and dropped his head against Sebastian's shoulder.

"Alright, now I want IHOP," Finn finally admitted, pushing himself into a sitting position and frowning down at Sebastian and Kurt thoughtfully. "I'm gonna go get dressed. Don't leave without me, okay?"

Kurt lifted his head to watch his brother stomp up the basement steps incredulously.

Sebastian just groaned and threw an arm over his eyes.

xxx

As it turned out, IHOP with fourteen boys was actually quite the event.

The group had managed to sweet-talk their waitresses into pushing together enough tables for all of the boys to sit together—which had taken all of the free-standing tables on the far side of the restaurant, plus one of the booth tables to pull off—and even though the manager had assigned three waitresses to their table, the poor women were still overwhelmed by the rowdy group of boys.

In the Warblers' defense, they did their best to be as helpful as they could to the wait staff. They never spoke out of turn when they were ordering (unless someone suddenly decided to change their order at the last moment) and even if they were given the wrong plate or beverage, they would wait until after the wait staff's back was turned to exchange them amongst themselves.

Kurt, of course, somehow ended up smack in the middle of the madness. He couldn't even recall exactly how he had ended up tucked under Sebastian's arm and helping the brunette pick at his Garden Crepes, with Nick on his other side arm wrestling with Caleb from across the table. Finn was sitting opposite Kurt and next to Sam eagerly cheering Caleb on, his breakfast platter already wiped clean. Jeff was standing behind Caleb and leaning over the blonde, doing his best to get a hand over Caleb's to throw the game in Nick's favor.

Sebastian was ignoring his classmates' shenanigans completely in favor of scowling at his coffee.

Over the past few hours, if Kurt had learned nothing else, he had learned that Sebastian Smythe was _not _a morning person.

He'd also learned that Sebastian apparently possessed a caretaker streak a mile wide—as he had proven by making a pit stop by the Lima Bean on their way to the restaurant. When Sebastian had climbed back into the car and handed off a venti chai soy latte to Kurt without so much as a word, Kurt had decided that he would one day marry the man.

Then he had decided to blame that particular thought on the antibiotics.

Their waitresses thankfully came back before a winner of the arm wrestling match could be determined, likely saving everyone nearest Caleb and Nick from having the boys' food and drink splashed in their faces. Kurt shot the waitress nearest him—Tammy, according to her worn name tag—a tiny smile of thanks. The blonde woman responded with a playful wink before she pointedly cleared Nick and Caleb's plates from the table.

When Kurt glanced up at Sebastian, he wasn't too surprised to find the other boy was still scowling at his coffee. He gave a long-suffering sigh before leaning over to push the offending coffee away from Sebastian, offering a quick smile to their waitress when she took that as her cue to take the mug to the back with the rest of the dishes in her arms.

Sebastian blinked at him.

"Why didn't you just get a latte when you stopped at the Lima Bean?" he asked archly, fighting a grin when Sebastian turned his brooding scowl towards him. The battle was quickly lost when the other boy's frown deepened as he mulled over Kurt's words.

"… I didn't think of it," Sebastian admitted grudgingly.

Kurt actually bit his lip to keep his expression schooled. He shot a quick glance down the Warblers' table to find that their places had been all but cleared of dishes and most of the boys were beginning to mess with their phones or fiddle with their keys. When he returned his gaze to Sebastian, Kurt surprised himself by leaning over and kissing the brunette's cheek quickly.

"My chai's gone cold- do you think we could swing back by the Bean on our way back so I can get another?" he asked lightly, leaning back enough to catch Sebastian's eye and blink innocently.

Sebastian's lips pulled into a slow grin.

"I suppose a quick pit-stop could be arranged." He shifted to pull his wallet from his back pocket and quickly fished out a credit card to drop on the check that their waitress had slid in front of them.

Kurt didn't actually smirk in triumph at Sebastian's response, but it was a very near thing. He might have preened a little bit. If he did then Sebastian mercifully didn't notice.

"So," Sam dropped into Ben's recently vacated seat- Ben was on the other end of the table talking to Andre and Thad now- and turned a lazy grin towards Sebastian. "You coming back over after this?"

Kurt glanced at Sebastian in surprise.

Sebastian shrugged noncommittally. "I don't have anywhere I need to be."

Sam looked at Kurt meaningfully, clearly not missing the fact that Sebastian had more or less evaded his question entirely.

Kurt took that as his cue to shoot Sebastian a disdainful glance. "I hope that wasn't your attempt to get out of helping me catch up with my calculus, Smythe- because I'm not about to let you off the hook that easily."

Sebastian lifted an eyebrow, knowing full-well that he and Kurt had never made any plans of the sort but not saying a word to the contrary. Actually, Kurt was a little surprised to feel the brunette relax ever so slightly beside him.

Kurt couldn't even remember when Sebastian had tensed.

Sebastian turned his attention back to Sam and gave a long-suffering, unconvincing sigh. "I guess there's your answer, Evans."

Sam rolled his eyes. "You know, you could just have said 'Sure, Sam, I'd love to' and avoided all the bullshit," he quipped. "You two aren't fooling anyone."

Kurt glared at Sam coolly. He didn't even have to spare a glance at Sebastian to know that the brunette was offering Sam the same treatment.

Sam held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I'm just saying."

"Don't." Kurt and Sebastian snapped. Then they blinked at each other in bemusement.

Sam just laughed and stood. "Yeah, I'll take that as my cue. See you guys at home."

Sebastian was the first to recover and narrowed his eyes at Kurt playfully. "Your brother is a pain in my ass."

Kurt's lips pulled into a tiny smile despite himself. "He's not my _brother_," he countered uselessly.

He was a little surprised at Sebastian's derisive snort.

"Oh, please. He's your brother, Kurt."

Kurt couldn't be sure if it was the certainty in Sebastian's words or if his brain had just short-circuited while watching the other boy's lips curl around his name (so sue him, Kurt had a habit of watching Sebastian's lips when the brunette spoke- it was really Sebastian's own fault for having such a distracting mouth), but something about the simple statement made his breath catch.

Sebastian miraculously didn't notice since their waitress had chosen that moment to return with their credit card receipt, and after a quick scrawl of his signature Sebastian was moving to his feet and retrieving his keys.

Kurt quickly followed suit.

He was surprised when he suddenly found Benjamin and Nick attached to either of his sides, both boys slipping their arms around his back in one-armed hugs. Kurt tried to awkwardly return the gesture and glanced between them in bemusement.

"We're heading back," Ben explained, his ever-present grin as contagious as always as he gave Kurt's shoulders a quick squeeze. "But we expect to see your butt in Westerville soon, Hummel. We still have another disc of Firefly left to go!"

Nick rolled his eyes. "In other words- expect for us to make Sebastian kidnap you sometime in the near future. If we're lucky, you won't even be sick the next time around." He paused to ruffle Kurt's hair. "We'll even pretend not to notice if you and Sebastian sneak off to makeout again."

Nick managed to duck out of Kurt's reach before he could go after the other boy, cackling at Kurt's indignant squawk as he weaved his way through the other Warblers and back to Jeff's side. The only thing that kept Kurt from chasing after Nick was the arm that had snaked around his waist, and Kurt swung his annoyed pout to Sebastian as he simply turned in the Warbler's hold and tried to pat his hair back into place.

"I hate our friends."

"Of course you do," Sebastian agreed in mock sympathy. The smirk lifting the corner of his lips didn't exactly sell his act.

Kurt's scowl deepened. "And I hate you for not letting me dry my hair last night. You see this?" he gestured to his hair irritably, "This is your doing."

Sebastian quirked an eyebrow. "Am I supposed to be seeing something other than your signature abuse of hairspray?"

Kurt didn't bother to pull the punch that he aimed at Sebastian's shoulder.

After that more of the Warblers came by to bid the pair farewell before they hit the road, and Sebastian was saved from suffering at the hand of Kurt's wrath any further. The next several minutes were a blur of hugs and bumping fists with the other Warblers.

Jeff and Nick, Kurt and Sebastian, and Ben were the last ones to make their way out to their cars. Jeff was walking with his arm hooked around Kurt's neck, chattering excitedly about nothing at all. From the corner of his eye, Kurt could see Nick watching Jeff with a tiny, fond smile, and Kurt couldn't help a smile of his own at that.

He chanced a glance over his shoulder and was surprised to catch Sebastian's eyes on him.

Seeing that he had been caught out, Sebastian only offered a unapologetic shrug and shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his coat. He didn't drop Kurt's gaze.

Kurt's smile widened ever so slightly and he held Sebastian's gaze for just a beat longer. Even then, he only looked away when Jeff finally took notice of his wandering attention and, quite vocally, called him on it.

The ring of Sebastian's laughter sounding from behind them warmed Kurt in a way that no Gucci scarf ever had.

xxx

Kurt watched Sebastian disappear into the Lima Bean, shaking his head with a grin before letting his attention shift to the passing cars, watching traffic idly. It didn't take but a minute before he began to feel a little claustrophobic in the car. His stomach was churning from the greasy food he'd helped Sebastian pick at back at the restaurant, the dry heat from Sebastian's car heater was bothering Kurt's still-sore throat, and he could feel the beginnings of a headache pulsing just behind his eyes.

After only a beat of indecision, Kurt pushed open his car door and stepped out into the crisp February air.

He took a steadying breath and let his eyes slip closed, lifting his face as he enjoyed the feel of the early morning winter sun on his face. This was why Kurt loved winter so much—the air always felt cleaner somehow, the sun more distant. The extra bonus of being able to layer his clothes to his heart's content of course might have been an influential factor as well. Then of course there were the _scarves_—

"Careful now, princess," an all-too familiar voice suddenly preened, "Stand around like that and you'll drown if it rains."

Kurt bit the inside of his cheek to keep his annoyance from showing. He reluctantly opened his eyes and spotted Rashad and Azimio making their way towards him from the opposite side of the street. The football players were bundled up in their letter jackets and equally atrocious, mismatched beanies, and they were carrying shopping bags from the sportsman store further down the road.

He had a sinking feeling that the grins they were wearing had nothing to do with their recent purchases.

Kurt narrowed his eyes and lifted his chin, doing his best too look down at the cretins even as they grew close enough to begin towering over him. "Stalking me now, gentlemen?" he queried flatly, keeping his tone bored and disinterested. He even went so far as to pretend to examine his nails. Mind you, he was still watching the pair of jocks from the corner of his eye. He just didn't want to be too obvious about it.

Azimio snorted obnoxiously. "Dream on, fairy." He elbowed Rashad and the pair snickered at Azimio's apparently stunning rebuttal.

And Kurt thought he'd had a headache before.

The jocks stopped in front of Kurt, and to his unease he noticed they were openly eying Sebastian's car from over his shoulder. Kurt felt his stomach knot.

"Nice ride, highness." Azimio nodded to Sebastian's car. "Who'd you have to blow to get a go in that beauty?"

Kurt's eyes narrowed. "Who'd you have to blow to get on the football team?"

Azimio actually snarled and closed the remaining distance between them, planting his hands against Kurt's shoulders and shoving hard. The force behind the push sent Kurt stumbling back into Sebastian's car.

Before he had the chance to straighten, Azimio was in his face again. His breath was hot and rank as he breathed right into Kurt's face and if Kurt had thought that he felt nauseous before, it was _nothing_ compared to the way his stomach tightened in fear as the football player crowded him against the shiny red car at his back.

"I ain't no fag!" Azimio growled, punctuating his declaration by giving Kurt another unforgiving shove. He moved impossibly closer and something in Kurt's mind snapped. It wasn't Azimio crowding him against Sebastian's car anymore—it was Karofsky pushing him into a locker, Karofsky grabbing him by his face and smashing his lips against Kurt's.

Kurt wasn't even aware that he had moved until he felt his hand stinging and heard Azimio's angry yell.

He forced his gaze back into focus and found Azimio holding a hand to his cheek, blood already beginning to well beneath his fingers as he stared at Kurt in disbelief. Kurt watched in distant horror as the football player slowly lowered his hand and stared at the blood staining his dark fingers.

It was then that he noticed the jagged scratches marring the jock's cheek, saw the claw-like pattern of the gashes.

Numbly, Kurt looked down at his hand to find his nails and fingertips smeared with blood.

His stomach dropped to somewhere around his feet.

Azimio's eyes flashed. "You goddamn—"

"Is there a problem here, gentlemen?"

Kurt nearly sagged in relief as Sebastian's sharp voice carried over from the café doorway where the brunette had frozen, holding a coffee cup in either of his hands. Even from a distance Kurt could see that Sebastian had tensed impossibly beneath the heavy layer of his Armani peacoat, and his eyes were so dark a green that they looked almost black.

Kurt fought a shiver that had absolutely nothing to do with the cold.

His attention abruptly snapped back to the livid jock in front of him when Azimio took Kurt's moment of distraction as his chance to shove him back into the car yet _again_, this time with enough force that Kurt was actually afraid he had felt the window at his back tremble.

It was nothing more than instinct that had Kurt trying to shove the jock off of him, but he was dumbfounded when Azimio actually stumbled back several steps.

Then he caught sight of Sebastian, who had a hold of Azimio's letterman's jacket and was hauling him away from Kurt, his expression thunderous.

"Get your hands off of him," Sebastian seethed, whirling on Azimio so that he stood nose to nose with the jock. His voice was pitched so low that Kurt actually had to strain to hear it.

Azimio laughed and craned his neck to look at Rashad. "Well looky here, Rashad—princess got herself a little boyfriend!"

Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "I'd suggest shutting your mouth and walking away."

Rashad actually cackled.

Kurt shoved away from Sebastian's car and stalked over to the brunette, grabbing Sebastian's elbow and trying to physically drag him out of Azimio's face. "Drop it, Sebastian," he hissed, shooting Azimio a scathing glance, "They're not even worth it."

Sebastian didn't move.

"Azimio Adams!" a new voice called sharply, abruptly breaking the tension as every one of the four boys' looked to the petite woman standing on the other side of the street, her arms loaded down with shopping bags, "Don't you dare make me come over there and hit you upside the head, boy. You get over here and help me with these bags!"

Kurt watched, stunned, as the woman shifted her hold on her groceries so that she could point a finger at Rashad. "And Tony—don't you dare make me call your daddy and tell him you're out stirrin' up trouble again. D'you _want_ your booty beat red?"

Though Kurt never would have thought it possible, when he chanced a glance at Rashad he found the jock's cheeks to be as bright of a red as his letter jacket.

Sebastian's lips quirked cruelly. "Better run along, boys," he sneered lowly, "Mommy's calling."

Azimio took a sharp step towards Sebastian, puffing out his chest as he attempted to startle the Warbler—but Sebastian only shoved his hands in his blazer pockets and lifted an eyebrow disdainfully. Azimio only looked mildly put off.

"Better watch yourself, pretty boy."

When Azimio nodded to Rashad and the two made to make their way across the street, Kurt finally let out the breath he had been holding. However, the jocks had barely stepped off the curb before Sebastian turned and hailed them down again.

"Hey, half-wits," he called, ignoring Kurt's glare and attempts to pull Sebastian back towards the awaiting car. Kurt could only watch in horror as the pair paused and turned to regard Sebastian in lazy amusement.

Sebastian's lips tilted in a dangerous smile.

"Lay a finger on him again, and I'll see to it that you never throw another football."

Kurt's jaw actually dropped.

"Sebastian," he hissed, tugging viciously on the brunette's arm and chancing an anxious glance at the jocks.

Azimios' expression had pulled into a dangerous scowl.

Rashad was grinning a bit manically.

"_Azimio! Anthony! _I'm not gonna tell you boys again, get your behinds over here!"

Azimio pointed at Sebastian, reluctantly beginning to back towards where Mrs. Adams was waiting. "Like I said, lover boy— you watch yourself."

With that, he and Rashad turned and took the bags off of Mrs. Adams' hands before the trio began to make their way towards the parking lot at the end of the block. Even from a distance, Kurt could easily make out Mrs. Adams chewing out the two boys for wandering off.

His breath caught when, just before disappearing around a corner, Azimio glanced over his shoulder and shot Kurt a sinister wink.

xxx


	12. Track Eleven

Coffeeshop Soundtrack

Track Eleven

The instant that the jocks had disappeared from sight, Kurt whirled on Sebastian and shoved him as hard as he could.

"What is the _matter with you_?" he snarled. He advanced on Sebastian only to shove at him again, but Sebastian caught him by the wrists before he could get the chance, stilling Kurt's movements with disgusting ease.

Sebastian's expression was icy and distant.

"How long as this been going on?" he demanded coolly, still holding Kurt by his wrists in a vice-like grip.

Kurt only glared at him.

Sebastian hauled him closer so that their chests were touching, but there was nothing intimate about the contact. Even though Sebastian's features remained schooled, there was really no missing the barely contained fury simmering just beneath the surface of his emerald eyes.

"I'm not playing around right now, Kurt." Sebastian's voice was as thunderous as his eyes. "How long have those guys been giving you shit?"

It probably wasn't wise for Kurt to snort in response to that, but he did anyways.

"Since we were in diapers?" he replied in dry amusement.

Unsurprisingly, Sebastian didn't find anything funny about Kurt's response. In fact, it only seemed to irritate him further.

"And you just—what, let them push you around?"

Sebastian's voice had risen in outrage, and Kurt's eyes narrowed in response.

"I don't _let them_ do anything, Sebastian," he sneered, "But in case it slipped your notice, they both have at least a hundred pounds on me!"

"So have Finn and Sam do something about it, have your _dad_!" Sebastian countered hotly. "Any of them could take those dumbasses!"

Kurt was flat out glaring at Sebastian now. "It's not their problem."

He wasn't exactly sure why Sebastian looked so dumbfounded at his response, but Sebastian took long enough trying to find his next words that Kurt should have had the time to figure it out.

"Of course it's their problem, Kurt," Sebastian breathed, "You're _family_. Family protects each other."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "My dad is not going to have another heart attack because he's dealing with a couple of teenage jackasses, and Finn has enough on his plate to worry about. And—" Kurt spoke over Sebastian's protest, "And Sam _did_ try to intervene last time, and he got a black eye for his troubles."

He felt his stomach roll at the mere memory.

Sebastian slumped so his back was leaning against the closed passenger door of his car, his eyes fixed unseeingly on nearby rain puddle.

Kurt couldn't recall a single time he had ever seen Sebastian Smythe look so defeated. It was as if every ounce of rage that had been coiled in his shoulders had evaporated into thin air, leaving him unsteady on his own feet.

It terrified Kurt.

"Why…" Sebastian finally began, his voice oddly stilted, "Why are you acting like any of this is normal, Kurt?" He lifted his eyes to catch Kurt's, and try as he might Kurt couldn't find the strength to look away. "You— I came out of the café and you looked _terrified_, and there was blood on your hand and that black kid looked like he was seconds away from _tearing you apart_ and—"

When Sebastian's voice broke helplessly, Kurt couldn't have kept himself from moving to the other boy if he had wanted to.

"Hey," Kurt breathed, wrapping his arms around Sebastian's neck and tipping the brunette's head to rest on his shoulder, thrilled that with Sebastian slumped as he was that Kurt actually _could_ hug him like this, "Don't do that. Don't you dare get lost in that pretty head of yours."

Sebastian snorted against Kurt's neck, but the sound was weak at best. "Did you just call me 'pretty', Hummel?" He lifted his arms to curl around Kurt's middle and hold him closer.

"Hush. I'm trying to be soothing."

"You're doing a terrible job."

Kurt huffed and tightened his hold around Sebastian's neck so that he was all but strangling him. "Bite me."

Sebastian actually snickered at that, effectively breaking the tension.

"I don't think you're ready for that, Kurt," he leaned back enough to throw Kurt a wink.

Kurt's face flushed. "You're ridiculous," he retorted, dropping his arms from around Sebastian's neck and falling back a step to put some space back between them. "And inappropriate—but then, I guess I knew that one already."

"Well I would hope so," Sebastian drawled, raising his eyebrows appraisingly, "Otherwise you're a much slower learner than I give you credit for. And believe me, Gayface, I don't give you much credit."

He softened the words by dropping an obnoxious kiss on the tip of Kurt's nose.

Kurt pushed his face away in mock annoyance. "Can we go now? It's freezing out here and, unlike you, I don't have my enormous ego to keep me warm."

Sebastian grinned and pulled open the passenger door, stepping aside so that Kurt could get inside. When Kurt offered him a raised eyebrow in disbelief, Sebastian's grin never wavered—until Kurt folded his arms and made it clear that he wasn't moving until Sebastian did. Then Sebastian rolled his eyes in feigned annoyance.

"Get in the damned car, princess."

"You're _such_ a charmer," Kurt preened sarcastically, smirking as he stepped around Sebastian and finally ducked into the car. "I don't have any clue how I managed to catch you."

He eyed Sebastian playfully.

"I'm thinking it must have been flypaper."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed and he pointedly shut the door before Kurt was quite settled, very nearly slamming Kurt's foot in the door.

Kurt was still laughing when Sebastian climbed into the driver's seat.

He pretended not to notice the tension that kept Sebastian's shoulders drawn tight for the rest of the ride.

xxx

Two and a half hours later, Sebastian and Kurt were set up at the Hummel's kitchen table with their homework spread in front of them, both bent over their respective textbooks and scribbling away in notebooks and on worksheets. The sound of the television was carrying over from where Finn and Sam were watching some action film with far too many explosions and even more screaming. From the kitchen, the sounds of Carole beginning work on dinner went nearly unheard thanks to the ruckus from the living room.

Kurt set his pen down on his notebook sharply, lifting his hands to rub at his temples and punching out an irritated sigh. "Guys, can you _please_ turn that down? We're trying to study in here."

Finn craned his neck as he twisted to look at Kurt over the back of the couch.

"Sorry, dude- it keeps getting too quiet and then all the sudden it's loud again. We're doing our best."

The garage door opened then, and Kurt and Sebastian both glanced back at the kitchen to see Burt hanging his keys on the rack by the door.

"How about you boys take your movie upstairs for now?" Burt said, moving into the living room to shoot Finn a glance that said his suggestion was actually a little more of a command.

Finn scowled but turned the television set off and rose to his feet, nodding to Sam before trucking up the stairs two at a time. After a quick, sheepish wave to Burt, Sam quickly followed right behind Finn.

Burt shook his head at the pair before he turned to face Kurt and Sebastian, his eyes doing a quick sweep of the mess that had become of the kitchen table before he propped his hands on his hips. "You boys workin' hard?" he finally ventured, lips quirking in dry amusement at the look Kurt shot him for his efforts.

Sebastian glanced between his homework to Kurt's and quirked his lips into a wry half-smile. "Something like that, sir."

Burt nodded. "You staying for dinner, Sebastian?"

Sebastian blinked at that and glanced at Kurt for help.

Kurt fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, he is," he supplied wryly.

"-If that isn't a problem, Mr. Hummel." Sebastian quickly added. Though he was keeping his tone carefully level, there was really no missing the way that Sebastian was sitting a little too stiffly while in Burt's presence.

Kurt wasn't sure if he should find it endearing or irritating. Or amusing. Seeing Sebastian out of his element was so rare of an occurrence that Kurt was honestly fighting back the urge to try and sneak video of the exchange with his phone.

Burt's lips quirked in amusement. "I'm sure it's not a problem, kid. Carole's got enough food in that kitchen to feed a small army." He paused to consider his statement. "Or at least Finn."

He clapped a hand on Kurt's shoulder as he turned to head back into the kitchen, doing his best not to look too pleased at Kurt and Sebastian's snickers in response to his words.

"Dinner'll be ready in twenty minutes or so, so you boys be sure and pack it up before then."

Kurt shook his head in amusement. "Sure thing, dad."

xxx

Dinner passed with little fanfare.

Though Kurt had been a bit wary at the idea of his father and Sebastian sitting in the same room for an extended amount of time, both men had effectively surprised him. Kurt's dad hadn't once alluded to where he kept his shotgun hidden, and Sebastian had managed to last the entire meal without a single innuendo.

Kurt was debating chalking the evening up as an undisputed success.

And then Sebastian had to go and open his mouth and ruin Kurt's zen.

It was after the kitchen had been cleaned up and the table cleared from dinner. Kurt and Sebastian had reclaimed their spots at the table and continued on their homework—Kurt really _was_ getting his ass kicked by his makeup Calculus homework, much to his chagrin—and after almost a half-hour of relative silence, Sebastian had set aside his pencil and cleared his throat purposefully.

"You should come back to Dalton."

Kurt's head snapped up at that, his wide eyes doing little to help hide the surprise he felt at Sebastian's sudden declaration.

"I—what?" he stammered.

Sebastian finally looked up from his homework to fix Kurt with a startlingly grave stare.

"I'm serious." He twisted in his seat to face Kurt better, his arm bracing over the back of his own chair. "You went to Dalton the first time because of bullying, right? It doesn't look like much has improved since then."

Kurt snorted at that. "Oh, you'd be surprised."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "Was that supposed to be comforting? Kurt, those Neanderthals were seconds away from smearing your brains across my passenger-side window. If that's some sort of improvement, then this discussion is about to become a lot less abstract."

"Just drop it, Sebastian," Kurt replied too-lightly. He dropped his gaze back to the worksheet in front of him and did his best to look immersed in his homework, but of course Sebastian was Sebastian and wasn't about to let the matter drop.

"You need to at least talk to your father about those meatheads, Kurt. It's only a matter of time before things get out of hand." Before Kurt could refute that particular claim, Sebastian was speaking again. "At least _consider_ Dalton. I'm not asking you to pack your bags and move into a dorm tomorrow. Though…"

Kurt finally glanced up at Sebastian in order to offer him an unimpressed stare.

Sebastian just rolled his eyes and went back to his own homework, mercifully allowing the matter to drop.

xxx

Shortly after Sebastian took his leave Burt appeared in the living room, casually leaning against the doorjamb leading into the kitchen and watching Kurt carefully.

When Kurt noticed his father's scrutiny he did his best to fight back the blush he felt coloring his cheeks, all too sure that Burt had witnessed the quick kiss Sebastian had dropped on Kurt's temple as the Warbler had made his leave.

He cleared his throat and lifted his chin, casually plucking at the collar of his shirt as Kurt reluctantly met his father's eye. "Did you need something?"

Burt studied Kurt for a moment longer before speaking.

"How serious is this thing?"

Part of Kurt wanted to pretend like he had no idea what his father was even talking about. The other part of him wanted to pull out the frozen yogurt, sit his father down, and gush until the older man regretted having ever posed the question in the first place.

Luckily, he was saved from doing either by Sam's, once again, impeccable timing.

"Well, Mr. Hummel, I don't think they're actually even _dating_ yet, but it still looks serious enough to me," Sam volunteered helpfully, dropping into what had become his spot on the couch and snatching the remote off of the coffee table. "I mean, Sebastian seems pretty committed. Especially since he's all _Sebastian Smythe_."

Burt arched an eyebrow dubiously. "And what exactly's that mean?"

Kurt shot Sam a sharp glance that had the blonde backpedaling instantly.

"I—uh, just meant that, y'know, he's _Sebastian Smythe_, head dude at Dalton and all that," Sam quickly covered. He glanced shiftily between Kurt and his father. "He's sort of like the prep school version of a quarterback. So it's pretty cool that he's got such a level head about dating Kurt."

Sam glanced at Kurt for approval. It was all Kurt could do not to smack the blonde over the back of the head with the nearest magazine—which happened to be Kurt's newest issue of Vogue, and despite his temper Kurt refused to subject such a sacred text to Sam's stupidity.

He fought the urge to roll his eyes and folded his arms over his chest, just offering his father a tight nod. "Well I don't know about all of _that_," he drawled pointedly, unable to resist giving Sam another withering glance, "And he's co-captain of the lacrosse team. Never let Sebastian hear you compare him to a quarterback, or he'll have an aneurism on the spot."

Kurt inspected his nails so the other two men in the room might not notice the slight bit of pride that had slipped into his words at the mention of Sebastian's status on the lacrosse team.

Kurt Hummel was sort-of-dating the co-captain of a private school lacrosse team.

Stereotype _his ass_.

"And we're not dating." He quickly added, realizing his slip a moment too late.

Sam just grinned. "Dude. You're totally dating."

Author's Note: A wise man once said that a short update was better than no update at all.

Alright. I don't think anyone's ever said that, but it's the theory I'm going with, so work with me here.


	13. Track Twelve

Coffeeshop Soundtrack

Track Twelve

For the first time in what felt like far too long, the next couple of weeks passed without so much as a bump for Kurt. The Monday following the coffeeshop performance, Mercedes corralled the rest of the glee club into making peace with Kurt. Blaine had taken to keeping his distance, which Kurt was perfectly fine with. Of course, it made glee rehearsals a little awkward since he and Blaine were usually paired together for numbers, but Mr. Schuester had been saved when Sam offered to step in and partner up with Kurt.

Kurt met Sebastian at the Lima Bean three times a week after classes. They worked on homework, loaded up on caffeine and coffeeshop pastries (when Sebastian could guilt Kurt into one, which unfortunately was more often than not), and just hung out talking until it was time for the Lima Bean to close for the night. Jeff and Nick had accompanied Sebastian down only once since the Warbler's Invasion of Hummel House, but the pair had come down on their own the Saturday before last and spent the night at Kurt's to catch up on missed time.

Overall, things were beginning to look up for Kurt Hummel. So of course, that's when everything had to go to shit all over again.

xxx

Glee rehearsal had run late for the second time that week, and once again Kurt found himself driving a little faster than was strictly legal in his attempts to reach the Lima Bean. Sebastian had already texted him wondering where Kurt was, and Kurt was certain that the Warbler was beginning to get irritated at just how late Kurt actually _was_.

Twenty minutes was forgivable though, right?

Upon finally reaching the coffeeshop, Kurt slid out of his Navigator and made a beeline for the front door of the café. He spotted Sebastian through the glass as he neared and, sure enough, the Warbler's brow was deeply furrowed as he scowled at the empty seat across from his.

Kurt hurriedly made his way inside and dropped into the aforementioned seat with a sheepish smile.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Schue would _not _let us go today. He was trying to introduce a new number which always leads to at least half an hour of bickering between everyone in the club over his song choice, and then the word _choreography_ is mentioned and the entire meeting just goes up in flames—"

Sebastian shook his head distractedly. "It's fine."

Kurt blinked. He titled his head and gave himself a chance to give Sebastian a more thorough once-over. "It's… fine?" he repeated, voice only a little bit incredulous.

Sebastian only offered a shrug and took a pull from his coffee cup. Kurt was fairly sure that there were actually red warning signs flashing at the edges of his vision.

"Sebastian."

The brunette glanced up from the book in his lap, his eyebrows raised in silent question. It really didn't help Kurt's urge to reach across the table and strangle the Warbler.

Rather than give into said urge, Kurt pointedly folded his hands on the tabletop and regarded his boyfriend expectantly. "Care to share what's put you in such an agreeable mood?" he prompted at length, only once it became painfully evident that Sebastian wasn't going to take the nonverbal cue.

His eyes narrowed in concern when Sebastian, in response, punched out a heavy sigh and lifted his hands to rub at his temples wearily.

"Sorry. It's just—" Sebastian pursed his lips in frustration before physically shaking off whatever was weighing on his shoulders. "It's nothing. You were saying something about the Rachel Berry posse?"

"Oh no, you're not getting off that easily. 'It's just' _what_?"

Kurt did his best not to be offended by the weary once-over Sebastian afforded him for his comment. It was a battle very nearly lost. Luckily, Sebastian simply heaved another sigh before reluctantly answering.

"My… dad," he replied at length, staring determinedly at the coffee cup now perched in his hands rather than looking at Kurt. "I'm seeing him this weekend."

Kurt frowned and sat up a bit straighter in his seat. "I thought you lived with your father."

"Most people do," Sebastian agreed tonelessly. His expression had grown more distant that Kurt had seen it in weeks. Something about seeing that look back on Sebastian's face made Kurt feel as if he were sitting on a bed of needles. "I don't bother correcting them."

Sebastian made a show of shifting around in his seat, turning his gaze to the latte in his hand rather than meeting Kurt's eyes as he continued.

"I live with my mother just outside of Westerville. Grayson lives with his family in Columbus."

Kurt's eyebrows flew towards his hairline. "Grayson? Is that your—"

"Father, yes," Sebastian supplied boredly.

It took a moment for the rest of what Sebastian had said to click in Kurt's head. "Wait, he lives with his—"

"Family," Sebastian interjected once again. Kurt wasn't fooled in the least by how intently the other boy was pretending to examine his coffee cup. "His wife and three kids, if you want to be specific about it."

Kurt wasn't sure what to say to that. Frankly, he figured he was doing a fairly impressive job of not simply gaping at the other boy.

Sebastian didn't seem to expect much input from Kurt, though, because he continued as if Kurt had spoken anyways.

"Grayson comes from old money. He has family in France, and during one of his visits he met my mother, Danielle. She was an art student at the university, and he was bored." Sebastian snorted humorlessly. "She was smitten, though. And naïve. She was convinced that they would ride off into the sunset together. Mind you, he was already married at the time." He sneered at Kurt's look of surprise. "Did I forget to mention the age difference? That's my mistake—Grayson was 28 when he met my mother. She was 19."

"He was in France for three months. Supposedly, by the end of his visit he had decided that he would stay in France with my mom. He was going to leave his wife and kids to be with her—and when they found out she was pregnant with me, the deal was all but sealed. But then Grayson gets a call from his wife, and while he's in the middle of explaining to her that he won't be coming home, she tells him that she's five months along in her own pregnancy and had wanted to surprise him once he was state-side again. Grayson was on a plane back to Ohio the next morning."

Kurt's jaw dropped. "He just… How could he change his mind, just like that?"

Sebastian smiled humorlessly. Kurt didn't even bother trying to fight the urge to reach across the table and take one of the brunette's hands in both of his, stroking his thumb against Sebastian's knuckles in an attempt to soothe the biting smile from his features.

"Just like that," Sebastian agreed. He gave Kurt's hand a quick squeeze. "Once he was back in Ohio, Grayson insisted that my mom move to the States so he could still be 'part of our lives' or something. He bought her a house, sent her a plane ticket—and my mom was still so stupidly in love with him, that she just dropped everything and did it. She gave up _everything_ just to be in the same zip code as him."

Sebastian slumped back against his chair with a sigh.

"Now he's a state attorney, and my mom bartends six days a week to make ends meet. End of sob story."

Kurt's narrowed his eyes at that. "It's not a sob story," he snapped. "You're dad's just… kind of an asshole."

Sebastian let a genuine laugh slip at that. He sat back in his seat but kept Kurt's hand in his, offering him a hesitant grin. "My dad's definitely an asshole."

"So what's this about seeing him this weekend?"

Kurt instantly wanted to kick himself for asking when Sebastian's grin slid.

"The only time I ever really see Grayson is when he's dragging me on some 'family event' or to one of his parties. He tries to make a point of having 'all of his sons' present at his parties," There were actual air quotes involved in that statement. "The only consolation is that his wife _hates it_."

Kurt blinked. "You actually have to be around his other family?" He winced at his word choice, but Kurt was relieved to note that Sebastian didn't seem to notice—or care, which was more likely the case.

"Unfortunately. Despite all the other shit that he's pulled, Grayson tries to do his best by my mother and I. At least in his own way."

"That's…"

"Fucked up. I know." Sebastian's lips titled wryly. "Should I have come into this relationship with a disclaimer?"

Kurt snorted. "Believe me, you did. Admittedly, it may have missed a few key points, but it at least covered your affinity with polos."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed playfully as he tugged his hand from Kurt's. "I've worn a polo around you _once_—"

"Honey, that was one times too many," Kurt interrupted easily. He stood up and tilted his head towards the barista's counter. "Now, are you going to buy me a coffee, or am I going to have to go find another blazer-clad boy with daddy's credit card to do the job?"

Rather than take offense as Kurt was half-afraid he would, Sebastian simply stood with a dramatic roll of his eyes.

"I have no idea why I keep you around, Hummel."

Kurt smirked and bumped his hip against Sebastian's as the brunette fell into step with him as they made their way towards the register.

"I can think of a few reasons," he replied airily, pointedly ignoring the heated glance his response earned him from the Warbler at his side. He stepped up and ordered his coffee before Sebastian could get another word in.

xxx

Kurt sank onto the cushion between Sam and Finn and dropped his hands into his lap. He managed to stare at the television long enough to recognize what he thought was another James Bond movie (Sam and Finn had gone off on a Bond kick sometime within the past week) before speaking.

"Sebastian's dad is a complete _asshole_."

It took a moment, but both Sam and Finn slowly turned their attention from the television set to give Kurt twin looks of wary bewilderment.

Without looking away, Finn slowly lifted the remote to mute the tv set.

Kurt lifted his hands defensively. "I'm just saying. The guy is a Grade A douchebag. It's no wonder Sebastian's such an abrasive little shit most of the time—it's _hereditary_."

Sam apparently couldn't help a snicker at that.

Finn was still blinking in confusion. "Dude, when did you meet Sebastian's dad? Wait. Did you go meet him and he was a jerk to you or something? Because that's not cool. At all. Did Sebastian not do anyth—"

Kurt waved away Finn's worries distractedly. "No, Finn. It was nothing like that. Sebastian was just upset when I met up with him today because he's got to spend the weekend with his Dad. For the record, getting Sebastian to actually talk about himself? It's like _pulling teeth_. For such a self-centered little jerk, he's remarkably private."

Finn glanced over Kurt's head at Sam, apparently still lost. "If he's calling him names, does that mean that they're fighting?"

Kurt didn't bother to resist the urge to smack Finn.

Sam snorted. "I'm pretty sure that's actually how Kurt and Sebastian show endearment. It's like pet names. Only with insults."

Kurt made a point of elbowing Sam for good measure.

Finn was still rubbing the back of his head sourly when he turned his frown back to Kurt. "So what's wrong with his dad?"

"The cliffnote's version is that his dad's got an entire second family and just keeps Sebastian around for photo ops and sympathy votes." Kurt scowled and folded his arms over his chest, trying to decide just how much he should even tell the other two. He had a feeling that Sebastian wouldn't appreciate Kurt spreading his business around. But that didn't help Kurt's need to _vent_ whatsoever. "Obviously there's a whole lot more to that, but it's not really my story to tell."

Sam nodded in understanding. "Sounds pretty rough."

"I feel like I should apologize for ever bringing Sebastian over here in the first place—though, in my defense, _Sam_ brought him over here to begin with," Kurt spared Sam a pointed glare, but the other boy didn't even have the decency to look abashed. In fact, Sam simply rolled his eyes. Kurt huffed and continued on his tirade. "I mean, my dad's practically _perfect_ compared to Sebastian's failure of a sperm donor. I feel like I was rubbing my dad in his _face_."

Finn snorted. "I really doubt Sebastian thinks you let him come over here to rub Burt in his face. I mean, I'm pretty sure normal people don't really even consider the possibility of stuff like that."

Kurt raised an eyebrow blithely. "Did you just insinuate that I'm abnormal, Finn Hudson?"

He could practically see Finn trying to piece together the word in his head.

"It means not-normal, Finn!"

Finn flushed. "Dude, I knew that! Chill!"

Both Sam and Kurt gave Finn a look at that.

"I'm pretty sure that Finn's trying to say that you're probably just overreacting, Kurt," Sam finally offered. He was doing little to hide the amusement in his tone. "Sebastian comes over here to see _you_, not your family."

"Which is probably a good thing," Finn added helpfully, "Seeing as we're sort of crazy dysfunctional here."

Burt chose that moment to lumber into the living room and paused, glancing between the three boys on the couch warily. "Who's crazy dysfunctional?" he hazarded before moving across the room to drop into his recliner.

Kurt turned a longsuffering look on his father. "Us, apparently."

Burt blinked. "Not that I'm really disputing the fact, but why exactly are we dysfunctional this time?"

"Sebastian's got a dead beat for a dad, so Kurt's convincing himself that he's somehow hurt Sebastian's feelings by rubbing our flawlessness in his face," Sam deadpanned. He quickly ducked the pillow that Kurt swung at his head as a reward for his efforts.

"I hate every one of you."

xxx

"So are you two just going to continue to conspicuously avoid each other for the rest of the year?"

Kurt glanced over his shoulder at Quinn, finding her leaning against the locker next to his and regarding him with a quirked eyebrow. He blinked when she nodded to something behind his shoulder and turned to follow her gaze, finding Blaine ducking into his own locker further down the hallway with Tina at his side.

Kurt sighed and turned back to shove his Physics textbook into his locker.

"I'm not avoiding him, exactly," at Quinn's snort, Kurt shot her a look, "I'm _not_. It's just easier not to deal with him if I don't have to."

"Perhaps. But it certainly makes for an interesting glee rehearsal, don't you think?"

"Please," Now it was Kurt's turn to snort. "Who is it that keeps ending up in the center of the Finn Hudson love triangle?"

Quinn narrowed her eyes playfully and smacked Kurt on the arm. "That's different."

"Only because you three usually have your throw downs in the middle of rehearsal. Blaine and I at least _tried_ to keep our business outside of the choir room." He cocked his head. "We were even fairly successful until Rachel decided to stage a singer-vention—which you were conveniently absentee from, I might point out."

"I was sick!"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "That's no excuse."

Quinn smacked him harmlessly on the arm again, but this time left her hand there to curl around his forearm and pull him in the direction of their next class. As fate would have it, just as they turned to begin towards their AP English classroom, Tina and Blaine were coming down the hall from the opposite direction. Kurt fought the urge to groan aloud.

The instant that Blaine noticed Kurt and Quinn was painfully obvious, because the other boy suddenly froze mid-step and stared at Kurt with wide eyes. Tina stumbled a bit in surprise at Blaine's sudden stop and turned to look at him in question, but when she followed his gaze and spotted Kurt she placed a sympathetic hand on Blaine's shoulder and offered Kurt a pinched smile in greeting.

Next to him, Quinn slid her arm through Kurt's more securely and returned Tina's smile with a sickly-sweet one of her own. Kurt recognized the smile as Quinn's patented HBIC smirk, which he remembered all too well generally meant that she was plotting someone's demise rather than being polite at all. "Blaine, Tina," she greeted airily, brushing her hair away from her face in a move too measured to be casual.

Tina's smile only faltered slightly. "See you guys in glee club?"

Blaine was doing little to hide the way that he was staring at Kurt, so Kurt did his best not to spare the ex-Warbler so much as a glance if only to avoid the weight of that stare. Instead, he offered Tina a tight smile of his own. "Of course. Save us a seat?"

He didn't bother waiting for the girl to respond before pulling Quinn further down the hallway towards their class. Quinn didn't miss a beat though and was right at his side step for step, her hips swaying with familiar sass as they made their hasty exit. Kurt used the arm crooked with Quinn's to tug her closer to his side so that he could tip his forehead against hers.

"Thanks, Q."

Quinn slid her hand from Kurt's arm to link their fingers together and squeezed his hand lightly as they entered their English classroom. "Of course."

xxx

"Come with me."

Kurt's head snapped up from where he'd been bent over his French homework, his eyebrows flying towards his hairline in surprise.

"I beg your pardon?"

Sebastian shifted in the seat across from Kurt anxiously. That alone was enough to make Kurt eye the other boy warily, but when he noticed that Sebastian was actually wringing his hands together nervously beneath the glass table, he actually felt a lump of dread settle low in his stomach. It was enough to make Kurt close his French textbook and set it aside completely.

Sebastian visibly steeled himself, drawing his shoulders back and taking a breath before plowing on. "Come with me to Grayson's event this weekend. He probably won't even notice that I'm there until it's time for the obligatory photo-op. He won't care if I bring a date."

Kurt chose his words carefully. "And if that date you brought along were a _boy_…?"

Sebastian didn't miss the words that Kurt wasn't saying.

"He knows that I'm gay, Kurt," he replied a bit incredulously. "Does _any_ part of me really come off to you as closeted?"

Kurt couldn't help a tiny snort at that. "How am I supposed to know how you behave around Grayson? For all I know you could turn into a completely different person when he's nearby."

"If by different person, you mean I generally do my best to embarrass the man by trying to sleep with every one of his colleague's sons? Then yes. I'm on my _best_ behavior."

Sebastian jumped when Kurt's foot pointedly collided with his shin at that.

"Let's not lose ourselves in a trip down Promiscuity Lane, Smythe."

Judging from the way Sebastian's affronted scowl shifted into something a little closer to an impish smirk, Kurt had few delusions that the Warbler hadn't caught the hint of jealously undoubtedly tinging Kurt's barb. Rather than appear sheepish about it, Kurt simply lifted his chin and stared the other boy down in silent challenge.

Sebastian reached out and took one of Kurt's hands between both of his. His thumbs stroked over the back of Kurt's hand soothingly, and despite himself Kurt felt a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his lips in response.

"The point is," Sebastian drawled, his voice softer as he lifted Kurt's hand to press a quick kiss against it, "It would mean a lot to me if you would come. I—I _hate_ these things, and having you there with me? Well, it's the only way that I can imagine the evening being remotely bearable."

And really, how on earth could Kurt say no to _that_?

Ignoring every single one of the warning bells going off in Kurt's mind, he nodded with only the smallest of sighs. "Alright. I'll go with you." He couldn't bring himself to sound particularly enthused with the idea just yet, but the concession was worth it when his words brought a brilliant smile to Sebastian's features.

The Warbler, uncaring of anyone who might see, leaned across the table and pressed a firm kiss to Kurt's lips. It was so unlike anything that Blaine would have ever dared to do that it caught Kurt completely off-guard and made butterflies swell in his stomach. By the time that he even had the bearings to consider returning the kiss, Sebastian was already pulling away and sinking back into his seat on the other side of the table.

"I'll pick you up Friday after you get out of glee rehearsals," Sebastian declared, "We can go straight to Grayson's from there, it's only a couple of hours' drive from Lima."

Kurt sank back into his seat and did his best not to sigh dramatically. This entire thing sounded like a _horrible_ idea, but there was no way he was going to be the one to tell Sebastian that. Not when the other boy was sitting across from him and smiling more honestly than Kurt had ever seen him smile before.

Looking back, Kurt should have known that his silence would inevitably come back to bite him in the ass.


End file.
